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[Minnesota Twins]

Game 48: Doggone it, game suspended by rain

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Twins will pick this one up in the 4th inning on Tuesday

The Minnesota Twins are playing host to the Cleveland Guardians this week. Unfortunately for those in attendance especially, this one is getting suspended until Tuesday night.

Tonight's game is suspended and will be picked up in the fourth inning at 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday. The second game will begin 30 minutes later. #MNTwins #Guardians #MLB

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 20, 2025​

The Twins were leading after falling behind 1-0. It didn’t take long though, Twins started things off with a Ty France single to center in the bottom of the first. Jeffers scored on the RBI single, and in the bottom of the 2nd, Castro doubled to right for the RBI double. Bader scored.

Tuesday was Bark at the Park night.

Rosie had the pawfect first pitch! pic.twitter.com/pOgQoTbIOo

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 19, 2025​

This is not the first time these two have been delayed this season due to rain. The last time the two met in Cleveland on May 1, there were also two delays in two innings, and the game prior also featured a delay.

That’s okay, at least the rain makes the farmers happy. The Twins groundcrew however, probably not so much.

Either way, Go Twins! on Tuesday!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/19/24433629/game-48-doggone-it-game-suspended-by-rain

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 48: Guardians vs. Twins

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Twins look to bounce back after Sunday’s loss

First Pitch: 6:40 PM CT​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Opposing Team: Covering the Corner​

The Minnesota Twins are 5 GB in the AL Central after a 13-game winning streak was snapped with a 5-2 loss the the Brew Crew on Sunday. The Twins (26-21) look to bounce at home Monday against the Guardians (25-21.)

Monday Lineup Cards

Minnesota Twins

1. Ryan Jeffers C

2. Brooks Lee SS

3. Royce Lewis DH

4. Ty France 1B

5. Trevor Larnach LF

6. Jonah Bride 3B

7. Carson McCusker RF

8. Harrison Bader CF

9. Willi Castro 2B

Bailey Ober P

Cleveland Guardians

1. Steven Kwan LF

2. Angel Martinez 2B

3. Jose Ramirez 3B

4. Kyle Manzardo DH

5. Carlos Santana 1B

6. Nolan Jones CF

7. Gabriel Arias SS

8. Bo Naylor C

9. Will Brennan RF

Logan Allen P

The Twins are without Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton who are both actively participating in concussion protocol exercises. The team also is waiting for Matt Wallner to return who is working to be cleared for a rehab assignment later this week.

Cleveland has lost four games in a row, most recently getting swept by the Reds.

American League Standings

This three-game series is Monday through Wednesday with the first two games starting at 6:40 p.m. and Wednesday’s is a day game at 12:10 p.m.

Go Twins!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/19/24433492/game-48-guardians-vs-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 47: Twins at Brewers

Anyone remember Glenn Williams?

First Pitch: 1:10 PM CT​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Know Thine Enemy: Brew Crew Ball​

I have nothing to say about the Milwaukee Brewers today. The Minnesota Twins play them twice a year as the designated “Interleague Rival”, which has always felt kind of dumb because it’s far more fun to beat Wisconsin’s NFL squad. Terry Mulholland also ruined my trip to the Park-formerly-known-as-Miller in 2004.

So, a story about a probably-forgotten Twin (in the vein of Todd Sears, Michael Restovich, & Michael Ryan before him) from 2005 instead…

In 1993, a young man named Glenn Williams signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves. While seemingly a run-of-the-mill player acquisition, this transaction was anything but: the 16-year-old Williams was from Gosford, New South Wales (Australia) and the pact was the first ever to exceed one million Aussie dollars.

Young Glenn

Williams wasn’t quite the immediate impact anticipated and he spent ten years toiling in the minors with various MLB organizations. In 2004, he did get the thrill of representing his country in the 2004 Olympics—even taking home a silver medal for the Land Down Under!

The next season, a 27-year-old Williams finally punched his ticket to The Show with our Twins—called up June 7 in Arizona where he recorded his first MLB safety against Shawn Estes.

Photo by MARLIN LEVISON/Star Tribune via Getty Images
The daily hit

Over the next three weeks, every time Ron Gardenhire penciled Glenn into the lineup he recorded a hit: 13 games, .425 BA, .902 OPS, 141 OPS+. Crikey!

On June 28, Williams rapped a base knock off Kansas City reliever Mike Wood. On a subsequent pick-off attempt, Williams hurt his shoulder diving back towards the first sack. He’d make it to third base on a Lew Ford (!) double but would have to leave the contest—something just wasn’t right.

Photo by BRUCE BISPING/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Not the exact play which produced the injury—but shows Williams was a hustler

Glenn Williams was placed on the Injured List the next day—and sadly never returned to Major League Baseball. In a sort of reverse-Moonlight Graham scenario, he banged out a hit in every one of the 13 games he appeared in.

Truth be told, I remember very little about Glenn Williams on the Twins. I’m sure finishing up my first year of college and realizing “oh hey, I have to work over the summers now for loan/tuition & foolin’ around money” had something to do with this. A really good interview with Williams about his career experiences can be found here.

Glenn had his Lucky 13 in ‘05—and the Twins are looking to do him one better today! I don’t think even Terry Mulholland can ruin this Brew Crew clash (though if Sandwiches can find a way…) to close out this weekend series. The return of Zebby!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...n-williams-2005-hitting-streak-australia-hurt

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 6, Guardians 5: Roger has to be so proud

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Kody Clemens walks it off in the bottom of 9 with an RBI double

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I’m sitting here at work jumping up and down explaining to my coworkers that Kody Clemens just walked off the game in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, hitting home Ryan Fitzgerald after Jonah Bride had singled up the middle. This all happening after the Twins blew it in the top of the inning.

To this they respond...who? huh?

Kody Clemens walks it off for the @Twins! pic.twitter.com/yxgbvNGZ8Z

— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2025​

It’s not because these players are ‘nobodies.’ It’s because they are just not your average big-name Twins of course. This team has been, I don’t want to say scraping by, but really this team has been grinding with a hodgepodge of players, not totally known by Twins fans. And this group is winning games.

Kody Clemens: AKA Roger Clemens son, was acquired by the Twins from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations after Luke Keaschall went down. Clemens had been DFA’d by Philadelphia on April 23.

Jonah Bride: AKA rec specs, was acquired by the Twins when Matt Wallner went down. Bride was released by the Marlins on April 15. The Twins claimed him again in exchange for cash considerations.

Ryan Fitzgerald: AKA success story, was called up from the minors when Carlos Correa was put on the IL after colliding with Buxton in the outfield. Fitzgerald turns 31 in June and has been grinding through independent ball and the minors for the past nine years after going undrafted in 2016. He was promoted to the bigs on May 16.

Chalk up another win. This marks the 10th consecutive win at Target Field for the Twins, something the team has never done. The Twins are now 14-3 in May. What a month.

The first game of this Wednesday ‘doubleheader’ was a makeup from Monday. The game started in the 4th with the Twins leading 2-1. Ober was the SP, Ryan took over Wednesday. It’s been a rainy, sloppy mess the past few days. Big shoutout to the grounds crew, putting in the long hours to make this game possible.

Let’s take you through what happened today...

Carlos Santana started things off early on Wednesday, hitting his fifth home run of the season in his former ballpark. Tie ballgame.

To the bottom of the inning, the Twins didn’t take long to take care of business. Kody Clemens tripled on a line drive to left, Trevor Larnach scored. Twins up 3-2.

Shortly after, Harrison Bader with the RBI sac fly to right, Clemens crosses home. Twins up 4-2.

Bader up again in the 8th, another RBI, this time on a single to left field. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. crosses home. 5-2 good guys.

But then.. the wheels fall off a bit. Joe Ryan gets pulled leaving two on the bases. The Twins bring in Duran and Nolan Jones singles to left, closing the gap. 5-3 Twins still.

But then... two outs and Bo Naylor doubles in two runs. 5-5 score. Blown save for Duran.

Bottom of the inning we go. Have no fear, as we spoiled above, Kody Clemens is here. Clemens lands a walk-off RBI double for the Twins to win the first of two at Target Field Wednesday.

In 46 plate appearances with the #MNTwins, Kody Clemens is hitting .325/.400/.700 with 10 RBIs and three game-winning hits.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2025​

Jhoan Duran got the blown save and the win.

Whatever works. The Twins are now 27-21. It almost brings a tear to my eye. Right now they sit 4.5 back from the Tigers in the AL Central.

Game two starts soon.

GO TWINS!!!!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/21/24434713/twins-6-guardians-5-roger-has-to-be-so-proud

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Guardians 5, Twins 1: Spent

Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images

The Twins’ have come up with some timely hits, but ran out of gas in game two this afternoon.

The Twins used up all the magic in game one and simply ran out of gas down the stretch of this one.

Despite Chris Paddack consistently allowing baserunners, the Twins took a lead into the sixth inning. The Twins scored their single run in the third inning thanks to a Willi Castro walk, some good base running, and a Ryan Jeffers RBI single. Unforunately, the Twins only had two hits and four baserunners the rest of the game.

With the Twins still leading 1-0 in the sixth, Paddack’s luck finally ran out. A Jose Ramirez single, Carlos Santana walk, and Daniel Schneeman walk loaded the basis and knocked Paddack out of the game. Corporate Louis Varland came on in relief and walked in a run and allowed a sac fly before retiring Austin Hedges and his .130 average to end the threat.

The Guardians added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to Carlos Santana’s second home run of the day. They added two more in the ninth to officially put it out of reach for the Twins.

While Minnesota is certainly disappointed to leave the day with a split, there’s only so much this lineup can do when you’re missing Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Matt Wallner, and (for this game) Trevor Larnach. The Twins did get some good news on the injury front with Correa beginning baseball activities following his concussion last week. Byron Buxton is not far behind him, according to head trainer Nick Paparesta. Matt Wallner was also set to begin a rehab assignment with AAA St. Paul, but their game was rained out.

STUDS

• Kody Clemens: he hit a walk off double in the first game so he gets to be stud for this game too
• Griffin Jax: 1 IP, 0 R, 3K

DUDS

• Corporate Lou: 0.2 IP, walked in winning run
• Kody Funderburk: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R
• Royce Lewis: 0-4

The Twins will welcome the Kansas City Royals to town on Friday when they can hopefully complete a regular series. The Royals are right in the playoff mix with the Twins, but their offense has been among the worst in the league. They rank in the bottom five in runs and OPS and are dead last in home runs. Minnesota won’t have to score that many runs to take this series.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/22/24434914/guardians-5-twins-1-spent

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Games 48.5 and 49: Guardians at Twins

Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Doubleheader Wednesday is a thing now.

First Pitch: 12:10 PM CT​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Opposing Team: Covering the Corner​

With heavy rain all over the midwest, the Twins once again have a straight doubleheader on a Wednesday to make up for lost time. The two teams will resume game one of these series, in which the Twins are up 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning, and the second game will proceed 30 minutes after the first game ends. Tuesday’s game was rescheduled to late September. There’s more rain in the schedule all afternoon and evening, so the Twins are hoping to complete the first game at a minimum.

The Twins will send out ace Joe Ryan to complete the first game. With six innings to go, the hope is Ryan will be able to finish out this game without needing to get into the bullpen. Cleveland will turn to the bullpen to complete the first game. Game two will be Chris Paddack vs Gavin Williams. The lineups will be the same, along with available bench and bullpen players.

Game 1.5 Lineups​

Twins

P: Joe Ryan

1. Ryan Jeffers, C
2. Brooks Lee, SS
3. Royce Lewis, DH
4. Ty France, 1B
5. Trevor Larnach, LF
6. Jonah Bride, 3B
7. Carson McCusker, RF
8. Harrison Bader, CF
9. Willi Castro, 2B

Guardians

P: Bullpen

1. Steven Kwan, LF
2. Angel Martinez, 2B
3. Jose Ramirez, 3B
4. Kyle Manzardo, DH
5. Carlos Santana, 1B
6. Nolan Jones, CF
7. Gabriel Arias, SS
8. Bo Naylor, C
9. Will Brennan, RF

Game 2 Lineups​

Twins

P: Chris Paddack

1. Ryan Jeffers, DH
2. Brooks Lee, SS
3. Royce Lewis, 3B
4. Kody Clemens, 2B
5. Jonah Bride, 1B
6. Harrison Bader, LF
7. Willi Castro, RF
8. DaShawn Keirsey Jr., CF
9. Christian Vazquez, C

Guardians

P: Gavin Williams

1. Steven Kwan, LF
2. Angel Martinez, CF
3. Jose Ramirez, 3B
4. Kyle Manzardo, 1B
5. Carlos Santana, DH
6. Daniel Schneeman, 2B
7. Gabriel Arias, SS
8. Nolan Jones, RF
9. Austin Hedges, C

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/21/24434618/games-48-5-and-49-guardians-at-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

A look at Minnesota Twins attendance by ballpark

Photo by Hannah Foslien /Getty Images

Some momentous highs—but always equal-to-worse lows

Prior to Y2K, the best way to judge a team’s wealth was to count the number of times their turnstiles tumbled. The intervening years have brought TV/media contracts that often outpace stadium patronage.

Yet, take a listen to Baseball’s National Anthem one more time—presented here by the inimitable Buck O’Neil...

“Take me out to the ballgame”. Radio, television, and smartphone screens may be fine most of the time—but there’s something about being at the ballpark that transcends medium. Even if overall attendance is more a measure of fan support than wealth acquisition now, it remains a strong indicator of overall interest.

Of the things that draw paying cranks through the gates, “competitiveness” and “experience” are paramount. Let’s look at how each Minnesota Twins ballpark has done in those regards and what the attendance averages may reveal:

Metropolitan Stadium (1961-1981)​

Photo by MLB via Getty Images
The Met

• Competitiveness: Wonderful in the 1960s—Hall of Fame talent and a World Series appearance!—but dreadful in the 1970s.
• Experience: The first live Major League Baseball seen by many in Minnesota, so that counts for something. The ballpark itself? More nostalgic than great—kind of a minor league park retrofitted just well enough to be big league.
• Average Attendance: 7th out of approximately 12 American League teams (the AL went from 10 to 12 to 14 teams in that span).

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982-2009)​

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Dome

• Competitiveness: Two championships (1987 & 1991) in five years, plus a prolonged 2001-2009 span of solid clubs. Alas, the early 1980s & most of the 1990s were bottom-of-the-barrel rough.
• Experience: Other than general fan atmosphere and the Dome Dog? Very poor. Minnesotans want to be outdoors in the summer months and this was a multi-purpose park built mostly with football in mind. Bad sight-lines and sort of a circus atmosphere (white roof, baggie, concrete turf, etc.). Were it not for the rings and the Gardy-era fun bunch, the Dome would have been an unmitigated disaster.
• Average Attendance: 10th out of 14 AL teams.

Target Field (2010-Present)​

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images
Current Home

• Competitiveness: Rather poor, sadly—or at very least inconsistent (2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, & 2023 being the good years). A maddening amount of malaise (2011-2014), Total System Failure (2016), & epic collapse (2022 & 2024) mixed in.
• Experience: Absolutely top-notch—often ranked in the top five of all MLB ballparks. A beauty from Day 1, the Pohlad ownership group has kept Target Field spick-and-span (more so than its primary denizens, to be honest). A true MN summer destination.
• Average Attendance: 7th out of 14.5 AL teams (AL went from 14 to 15 teams in this span)

The take-home point? The Minnesota Twins have regrettably never matched a beautiful ballpark with a sustained spate of winning. Metropolitan Stadium established the great tradition of MN baseball in the 1960s—but then was left to languish in the 1970s. The Metrodome hoisted our heroes’ heights—but then became a baseball laughingstock in the mid-to-late 1990s. Target Field is a hardball haven—but has been hard-pressed to harbor two consecutive positive seasons.

Right now, the Twins rank 12th of 15 AL squads in 2025 seats filled. With final school bells & sustained warmer weather right around the corner—plus a recent uptick in winning!—this is often when attendance hay is harvested. So, I hesitate to nail the coffin closed with four months of baseball to play.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Time to start filling in those gaps

I’ll end with this: There is a silent majority of Twins fans “from Ada to Zumbrota” (as the old commercial once chimed) that want to come out and see the Twins play. But as Jor-El tells his Kryptonian son:

“They can be a great people, Kal-El—they wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way.”

With all the things that must be packed into Minnesota’s summer months, the Twins must be competitively relevant to truly pack the park—hopefully the case going forward in 2025.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...loomington-metrodome-target-field-minneapolis

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 5, Royals 4: Un - B. Lee - vable

Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Twins deliver their third walk-off winner of the week.

The Good Vibes train left the station on May 3rd, and it’s not stopping, and it isn't coming back. The Twins walked off the Royals for the second straight game, erasing a 4-0 deficit in the middle innings and recording their third divisional walk-off winner of the week.

The script was pretty simple on this one.

The Twins clearly had no interest in leaving Zebby Matthews out for very long today; despite notching nine strikeouts on 81 pitches, he was pulled after four innings, including a two-run Royal third where Maikel Garcia plated a pair on a two-out RBI single with the bases loaded. Kansas City had only gotten a runner to first when the second out of the inning was even recorded; a pesky effort from the heart of their order opened the scoring.

That lead would be doubled in the fifth, when Justin Topa turned in a rare recent stinker for a Minnesota reliever. Allowing four hits in the frame, Topa watched as a Vinnie Pasquantino double plated Jonathan India and made it 3-0; then, a Salvador Perez single scoring Vinnie extended the margin to four.

But the difference between the April Twins and the May Twins is that the May Twins have a little fight in ‘em.

Suddenly ambushing Kansas City starter Michael Wacha, Minnesota finally got on the board with a big fifth inning that began with a frozen rope homer off the bat of center fielder Harrison Bader.

Re-energized, the lineup got to work. Willi Castro got plunked to get a man on, and two batters later, Christian Vazquez singled to move him into scoring position. Trevor Larnach would ground out, nearly killing the rally but advancing both runners nevertheless. It set up an excellent piece of hitting, an opposite-field single on the sixth pitch of the at-bat for Ty France, bringing home two runners with the Royals a strike away from ending the inning.

Three down, one to go.

Ty France is hitting .388 with runners in scoring position and .203 without runners in scoring position.

— Aaron Gleeman (@aarongleeman.bsky.social) 2025-05-24T19:38:45.581Z

And who better to tie it than the scorching-hot, bat-flipping, middle-of-the-order slugger we didn’t realize would be on the roster only a few short weeks ago?

With things squared up in the late innings again, one of the suddenly-scariest bullpens in baseball bore down and got the job done. Jorge Alcala struck out three in a scoreless sixth; Brock Stewart had a great seventh, and Griffin Jax fanned two in a clean eighth.

It was Jhoan Duran who dealt with the only trouble of any non-Topa reliever — he allowed a setup single to Bobby Witt Jr. (0-for-4 with four strikeouts until that at-bat) leading off the ninth. Witt predictably stole second, and saw Pasquantino fill first base behind him on a HBP. With one out, Witt would steal third, but Duran got Garcia on strikes for the second out.

A walk to Mark Canha left no room for error, but Drew Waters topped a splitter straight back to Duran, who cleaned up the 1-3 putout and set up the afternoon’s latest walk-off win.

Facing Daniel Lynch IV, a pair of well-seasoned Twins came off the bench and worked crucial at-bats to make sure the victory could be sealed. First, it was Carlos Correa, walking on seven pitches as part of his leadoff pinch-hitting apperance. Ryan Jeffers would do the same on eight, hitting for Larnach at the top of the order. And after Ty France moved the runners over with a groundout, Brooks Lee sent a huge crowd home happy.

So, peep these standings with your boy real quick. Winning the series early, Minnesota has pushed the Royals to 5.5 back of the Tigers, while climbing to within just 3.5 games of the division lead. They remain 8-2 in their last 10, have swung their run differential to +35 (third-best in the American League), and continue to pace the first Wild Card slot. It’s just about as much fun as this team and this fanbase could be having after an abysmal start to the 2025 campaign.

I won’t even qualify that with an “as long as they can continue” sentence. It’s the summer kickoff weekend. Enjoy the warm vibes.

GO TWINS GO!

COURTESY: Baseball Savant

STUDS:

RP Griffin Jax (IP, 0 H, 2 K)

1B Ty France (1-for-5, 2 RBI)

SS Brooks Lee (3-for-5, RBI)

2B Kody Clemens (1-for-3, R, RBI, BB, HR)

CF Harrison Bader (1-for-3, R, RBI, HR)

DUDS:

NO DUDS! TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/24/24436604/twins-5-royals-4-un-b-lee-vable

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 51: Royals at Twins

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The showdown in the center of the Central continues.

First Pitch: 1:10 pm CDT​

TV: Twins.TV / ~ / Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM

It feels weird to be writing a preview for a Twins team that has taken a loss within the last week. For most of May, I wasn’t doing that.

I don’t expect the Twins to lose much for the rest of the season, either, so maybe that was just a little cosmic blip in a constellation of undefeated baseball. I feel like if the Twins were going to lose more than, say, once or twice a month for the rest of the year, then I would have heard about it.

After all, the Twins only lost once last week, and have only lost once this week... they clutched out the series opener against Kansas City, and have only lost two games since dropping four in a row in early May and posting a 13-20 record just a few short weeks ago.

How much more fun is this?

Zebby Matthews is on the mound again today. Last time out, he — somewhat predictably — proved the weak link in Minnesota’s 13-game win streak, which finally snapped and earned him the loss in his first appearance of 2025. And while Zebby’s major-league career isn’t off to a sparkling start — he features a 7.08 ERA across 40 big-league innings now — his 1.93 ERA in 7 St. Paul outings suggests that his prospect status is well-earned, and he just needs a little bit of MLB run.

The Twins, for their part, will be facing veteran Michael Wacha, now in his second season with the Royals. Wacha is enjoying the best stretch of his career, having never been an All-Star again after a comfortable 2015 season, but now having posted 11.1 WAR since 2022. Minnesota has already faced him this season; he pitched 5.1 innings in a 3-2 Royals victory on April 10th. That game featured at-bats for Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, Jose Miranda, and Mickey Gasper, so it’ll be a slightly different look for Royal pitching this afternoon.

It’s also Royce Lewis bobblehead day, so it’s nice to see the young third baseman healthy and in the starting lineup.

As of Saturday morning, the Tigers still hold the division crown, but the Twins and Guardians are tied for second place with equal 28-22 records, an even 4.0 games back of the Motor City Kitties. The Royals are now 5.0 back after going 4-6 in their last 10 (the Guards have an even record, and Minnesota is of course 8-2, with their winning streak ending less than a week ago.)

A win today would secure the series against the Royals, and prove that this is a much stronger Twins team than the one Kansas City was introduced to in April.

GO TWINS GO!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/24/24435982/game-51-royals-at-twins

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Royals 2, Twins 1: Mission (sweep KC) Impossible

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

No offense past the first two batters dooms sweep potential

On this Memorial Day weekend in which people have been flocking to the cinema to see the final Mission Impossible installment, the Minnesota Twins lived up to that moniker by being unable to finish off the sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

The Twins got off to a great start in this one, with Ryan Jeffers leading off the game by doubling into the RF corner and then almost immediately being driven in by a single from the red-hot Ty France.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Oui Oui!

The visiting Royals put together their first threat off Twins SP Bailey Ober in the third inning when a Bobby Witt Jr. double put runners on 2nd & 3rd with one out. But Carlos Correa speared a Vinnie Pasquantino liner up the middle & Willi Castro was in the right place at the right time to nab Salvador Perez’s scorcher to LF.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Ober and out (of the jam)

In the middle innings, Ober & KC SP Kris Bubic matched easy goose eggs. Both moundsmen were putting the get in get-away day this holiday weekend.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Other than batters 1 & 2, Bubic was dealing

Still sitting on a shutout into the 7th, Ober was greeted by a leadoff Drew Waters double. For a moment it looked as if damage would be averted when nice defensive plays from France & Jonah Bride kept Waters glued to the second sack. But on an 0-2 offering, Freddy Fermin dumped a double into CF and tied the game 1-1.

Fortunately, Louis Varland would come in from the pen and squash any further foolishness.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Danger averted

As has happened so many times these past three weeks, Twins pitching kept the team in the game and left fans wondering “who will be the hero this time?”.

Well, a couple of heroes emerged in the top of the 9th. After Waters singled and was replaced by Kansas City speedster Dairon Blanco, Jeffers immediately gunned down Dairon with a perfect missile to 2B. Then, Trevor Larnach sprawled out to make a diving catch to allow Cole Sands to escape with a perfect frame.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Jeffers on his game today

Alas, no on-the-clock walk-off could be achieved in B9, so to bonus baseball we’d go.

Though the 30,000+ Target Field crowd was fired up by Jhoan Duran’s entrance, the righty allowed a single to Maikel Garcia that scored the free runner and gave KC a 2-1 lead.

MIN managed to put runners on 2nd & 3rd with two outs in B10, but Brooks Lee was unable to play the hero role two days in a row, grounding out to Witt to end this one.

Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
No fishing this afternoon

Your Final: Kansas City Royals 2, Minnesota Twins 1

This MN loss plus a DET victory (CG SHO from Tarik Skubal) over CLE today puts the Twins 4.0 GB the AL Central-leading Tigers.

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
This dude is scary

Up next: 3 games (M-W) at Tampa’s new/hopefully-temporary home—Steinbrenner Field.

Studs​

• Ober: 6.2 IP, 1 ER
• The entire Varland-Sands-Duran bullpen (only run scored was of the ghost variety)
• France: Drove in first run; some nice defensive plays

Duds​

• Carson McCusker: Nothing at the plate; tentative in the field
• The entire offense outside of Jeffers & France

Comment of the Game​

• norff iterating the common theme of bad Twins ABs today

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...-france-ryan-jeffers-mission-impossible-theme

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Monday Morning Minnesota: The “Walk-Off Wizards” Edition

Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images

The bats in the ninth inning? So hot right now

First, it is Memorial Day, so I’d like to take a moment and honor those in the military who have died while serving. We do not appreciate their service enough.

Back to the Twins, it was a wild week, started off by a few rainouts, a quirky doubleheader, and then three games that kept fans in suspense of the outcome until the very last out. The Twins finished 3-2 this week, drawing against the Guardians and then winning their series against the Royals, 2-1, which featured two walk-off wins. Derek Falvey’s genius (or madness?) in free agency and the trade market was on display yet again, as Harrison Bader, Ty France, and Kody Clemens all made impactful plays this week. They are now 4.0 games behind the Tigers, tied with the Guardians in second place in the AL Central. However, the Royals are right behind in fourth, 1.0 game behind the Twins and Guardians.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Need to vent about the Twins? Or provide some reasons to calm down? Check out our Game Threads and join the conversation!
• In case you forgot what happened this past weekend, our Game Recaps are back as well!
• Amidst the controversy over the lack of fan attendance this season at Target Field, Zach Koenig looks at Twins attendance by ballpark.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• This Friday was Star Wars Night at Target Field, and Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage digs into Carlos Correa’s love for a galaxy far, far away.
• Dan Hayes at The Athletic shares why Twins broadcaster LaTroy Hawkins went back to school. ($)
• Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press looks forward to the Twins' road trip, which will visit a couple of cities that aren’t usually on the schedule.

In the World of Baseball:

• Detroit is still atop the AL with a 34-20 record, and the AL Central continues to dominate the Wild Card spots, although Houston is now half a game behind the Royals. The Philles, who are 9-1 in their last ten games, have charged to the front of the NL, with a 34-19 record.
• Tarik Skubal looks like he’s ready to repeat as the AL Cy Young, especially after pitching a Maddux yesterday in a win against the Guardians. Jason Beck at MLB.com recaps Skubal’s first-ever major league complete game.
• Just because he can, Shohei Ohtani faced hitters in live BP yesterday. As Jorge Catillo at ESPN reported, Ohtani’s fastball topped out at 97 mph, and he threw a mix of fastballs and breaking pitches in 22 pitches. There’s still no timetable for Ohtani’s return, and unlike other pitchers coming back from injury, he won’t have the chance to go on a rehab assignment to build up in the minors since he, of course, is the starting DH for the Dodgers.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/26/24437382/monday-morning-minnesota-the-walk-off-wizards-edition

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 2, Rays 7: Eight hits in two days

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Twins failed to rebound after 3-hit game versus the Royals Sunday, only muster five hits against the Rays

The Rays have now won six straight, and the Twins bats have gone cold. This game was rather boring, and I don’t have much to talk about other than a C4 bomb, but hey, at least the Frost won!!

Your Minnesota Frost win back to back Walter Cups in TITANIC fashion pic.twitter.com/Ilt6PeWEHR

— 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) May 27, 2025​

Alright, let’s talk Twins. It was the Twins first time playing on Steinbrenner Field in regular season action for the Minnesota Twins. It’s pretty simple for the Twins: Carlos Correa hit a 417 foot bomb, but it wouldn’t be enough. Besides the dinger, the Twins bats are a bit stagnant in the past two games.

Carlos Correa hits his 4th home run of the year! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/t70J0w7URa

— Baseball’s Office (@baseballsoffice) May 27, 2025​

After his home run it was only a one run game. The game was quiet until the bottom of the 6th when Jonathan Aranda hit his 7th home run on the season. Three runs would cross home to give the Rays the lead. Danny Jansen would seal the deal with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th. Earlier in the bottom of the 8th, Caballero had hit an RBI double, scoring two. Kody Funderburk gave up the four earned runs.

Hits for the Twins today:

Ty France

Carlos Correa

Kody Clemens

Christian Vazquez

Dashawn Keirsey Jr.

Paddock recorded the loss and is now 2-5 on the season. He gave up five hits in 5 2⁄3 innings, 2 ER, 5 SO. Stewart, Topa and Funderburk came in for relief.

It’s games like these that give me that feeling I had early on in the season. The spark has not been there the past two days. That being said, the Twins are still 16-4 in their last 20 games. We’ll take it.

Tomorrow Joe Ryan gets the start. He’s 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. RHP Taj Bradley (4-3, 4.61) is scheduled to be on the mound for the Rays.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/26/24437727/twins-2-rays-7-eight-hits-in-two-days

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 53: Twins vs Rays

Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Twins visit George M. Steinbrenner Field to take on the Rays in a three-game series

First Pitch: 6:05 P.M.​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Opponent’s Site: DRays Bay​

Twins Lineup:

1. Jeffers DH

2. Larnach RF

3. France 1B

4. Correa SS

5. Clemens 2B

6. Castro LF

7. Lewis 3B

8. Vazquez C

9. Keirsey CF

Chris Paddack SP

Rays Lineup:

1. Simpson LF

2. BLowe DH

3. Caminero 3B

4. Aranda 1B

5. Mead 2B

6. Misner CF

7. Caballero SS

8. Jansen C

9. Morel RF

Zack Littell SP

The Rays are hot, but the Twins are hotter.

The Rays are coming off a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays putting the team at .500 for the first time this season. The Twins though have won 16 of their last 19 and have only dropped five games in May, three on the road.

The Twins were on a 13-game winning streak that ended on May 17. The Rays started a 5-game winning streak on May 20. It’s currently the longest winning streak in baseball.

The Twins will need to get their bats going in Tampa. Against the Royals Sunday, despite the game ending in extra innings, the Twins made it there with only three hits.

We will see how things pan out in game one versus Tampa.

The Twins sit 4.5 games back in the AL Central.

AL Central Standings 5-26

Will Matt Wallner make his return this series?

It’s been a long time since Matt Wallner was in the Twins lineup (April 17.) He is continuing his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul to begin this week. He is expected to join the team sometime along this road trip. He has appeared in three games for the Saints, hitting two home runs and is 5 for 12 at the plate.

Also news on why Harrison Bader is not in the lineup tonight....

Harrison Bader was in the original lineup, but was scratched with a sore finger. Rocco said Bader felt it on a swing, not the HBP. "I think he's gonna be fine," but said #MNTwins would be sure "he's good to go before we send him out there." https://t.co/fxcACZM73f

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 26, 2025​

Go Twins!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/26/24437639/game-53-twins-vs-rays

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 4, Rays 2: Kody Clemens is the best hitter in the galaxy

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Joe Ryan was great again, Kody Clemens smacked a homer, and the Twins won.

A struggling Twins offense scored first tonight, in the 1st inning, on a Brooks Lee sacrifice fly. That scored Trevor Larnach who had led off the game with a double.

Joe Ryan took that early lead and was able to get out of a jam in the 1st thanks to an inning ending double play turned by Lee and Correa. It was a close play, and Caminero was originally called safe, but replay overturned it, preventing the runner from 3rd from coming in.

In the top of the 2nd, Kody Clemens gave the Twins a 2-0 lead with a solo homer (5) to center, into some sort of tent. In the bottom of the 2nd, Jonathan Aranda was caught stealing home to end the inning.

In the 4th, Aranda drove in the first Rays run on a single, scoring Brandon Lowe who had doubled earlier.

In the top of the 6th, Ryan Jeffers walked, then Correa singled. Brooks Lee then grounded to 2nd, but the 2nd baseman airmailed the throw to 2nd, allowing Jeffers to score. For an offense that has struggled to score recently, that was a big gift.

Joe Ryan, who worked through some difficult innings, had quick and easy 5th and 6th innings to end his night. Louis Varland took over in the 7th, and Jose Caballero singled with 1 out. Caballero proceeded to steal 2nd and 3rd base, then score on a groundout to make it a 3-2 game.

A Correa double and Ty France single gave the Twins a nice insurance run in the top of the 8th, then Griffin Jax struck out the side in the bottom half.

Jhoan Duran entered for the save and got the tying run, Jose Caballero, to fly out to the warning track in left to end the game.

I’m sure Kody Clemens can sustain his 1.034 OPS, but just in case he can’t it’d be really nice to get Buxton and Wallner back soon.

Studs:

Joe Ryan: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, BB, 5 K

Griffin Jax: 1.0 IP, 3 K

Carlos Correa: 3-4, 2B

Kody Clemens: 1-4, HR

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...kody-clemens-is-the-best-hitter-in-the-galaxy

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Rays 5, Twins 0: Turned away in Tampa

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

The first series loss since April

Coming into this series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Minnesota Twins had not lost a series since the calendar turned to May. Under the high, hot sky of a Tampa Bay afternoon, that streak came to an end today.

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
The Rays speed away with the series victory

As has happened so many times this series, it was lumber lethargy in the early goings as starters Pablo Lopez & Drew Rasmussen ganged up for goose eggs through three innings.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Nothing doing early off Rasmussen

In the bottom of the 4th, gophers began to haunt Pablo: big flies from Brandon Lowe & Junior Caminero gave TB a 3-0 advantage.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Lopez wears down in the 4th

The damage continued in the 5th when a Jonathan Aranda single knocked in Yandy Diaz to extended Tampa’s lead to 4-0.

Meanwhile, Twins’ bats proceeded to go 0-17 through six innings after Trevor Larnach’s leadoff single.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Nothin’ doin’

MIN tried to make some noise in the 7th when singles from Carlos Correa & Brooks Lee opened the frame. But a Royce Lewis deep fly was hauled in steps from the RF wall—an all-too-common occurrence of late—and the threat was extinguished.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
TB in control

In the 8th, Kody Funderburk balked in a run to pad an already insurmountable lead this late in the contest. It was that kind of day.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
At least everyone stayed hydrated, I guess

Your Final: Tampa Bay Rays 5, Minnesota Twins 0.

Up next: a long flight to Seattle where—at very least—a major league stadium (one presumably without a haunted left field) awaits for a weekend series. I’ll be there on Friday night & Saturday afternoon hoping that my 7-2 live attendance record is the key to a new series victory streak!

Studs​

• Carson McCusker collecting his first major league hit—a bright spot on a dismal afternoon.

Jim Krajewski/RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The big man writes his name in the MLB ledger

Duds​

• Florida heat.
• The entire left field area of George M. Steinbrenner Field. Larnach still had issues navigating that space today.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Always an adventure

Comment of the Game​

• norff also marveling at the LF spooky zone.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...-weird-drew-rasmussen-series-loss-caminero-hr

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Game 55: Twins at Rays

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Trying to take the tilt this afternoon

First Pitch: 12:10 PM CT​

TV: Twins.TV​

Radio: TIBN​

Know Thine Enemy: DRays Bay​

Thus far in this series between the Minnesota Twins & the Tampa Bay Rays, the Twins have—like the biblical Jericho—seen the walls (especially that pesky one in left field) close in around them. The Rays even have a guy named Walls in the starting lineup tonight. That feels like cheating.

Any way you look at it, the Twins have seemingly battled the spectre of playing in a minor league facility more than anything Rays-related this week.

The Twins offense continues to putter along—15 runs in their last 5 contests—without the likes of Byron Buxton & Matt Wallner. Yet, rather remarkably, the squad hasn’t lost a series since dropping 3-of-4 to the Guardians (imagine that) as late April turned into early May.

That streak will be on the line today as Pablo Lopez looks to make the cross-country flight to Seattle after the game a jovial one.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...field-kody-clemens-left-field-wall-win-series

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Off Day Observations: Back in the Mix

Griffin Jax #22 of the Minnesota Twins | Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images

Playoff Odds, Expected Records, and Notes on Kody Clemens, SWR, Captain Jax, and the Three True Outcomes

There is a rule of thumb in baseball that you shouldn’t pay any attention to the standings until the end of May. While the standings at this point in the season do not guarantee anything when it comes to season’s end, teams that are well-positioned at this point in the schedule finish that way more often than not. According to Elias Sports Bureau data since 1995 (the beginning of the wild-card era), noted in an ESPN article earlier this week, 59% of division leaders on the morning of June 1 have gone on to win their division.

The Twins are not in first place in the AL Central standings, but they are now tied for 2nd place with Cleveland, six games behind Detroit as of this writing. That’s good enough for an American League wild card spot if the season were to end today and FanGraphs’ modeling shows the Twins have a roughly two-in-three chance to make the playoffs:

Visual from FanGraphs

As you can see in the chart above, those chances have more than doubled in the last month, thanks to a thirteen-game winning streak and solid all-around play that has the club 17-7 for the month.

Baseball-Reference is less optimistic about the Twins’ outlook, giving them a 29.6% chance of making the postseason. That was up above 42% before the Twins dropped two of three to the Rays, a team that Baseball-Reference’s modeling sees as in heated competition with the Twins for one of those American League wild card spots.

In terms of expectations, the Twins’ 30-25 mark is more or less in line with how they’ve played. By the Pythagorean method of estimating wins and losses based on runs scored and runs allowed, the Twins' record should be 31-24. FanGraphs’ more involved BaseRuns method suggests they should be 29-26.

Here are some other notes of interest for your off-day enjoyment.

Kody Clemens​

A significant portion of the Twins' turnaround over the last month can be credited to the outstanding work of Kody Clemens, who joined the club via trade in the aftermath of Luke Keaschall’s forearm fracture near the end of April. All Clemens has done since joining the Twins is hit, batting .274/.366/.629 (.423 wOBA and 181 wRC+) across 72 plate appearances and 29 games.

While it is difficult to assess how much stock to put into a journeyman player who never had a top prospect outlook (despite his Hall of Fame father) having a torrid month, most of Clemens’ underlying data supports the way he’s performed.

His BABIP with the Twins is .324, elevated some, but not outrageously so.

More importantly, he’s hit the absolute crap out of the ball. His 96.2 mph average exit velocity is about 7 mph better than his previous career-best and up near the league’s best. His 9.7% barrel-per plate appearance is almost double his previous work, and his 62.8% hard hit rate is up about 20 percentage points. Those contact quality data points are supported by a faster swing. His average swing speed is 72.8 mph, up 1.3 mph over last season.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

At the same time, he’s chasing less, whiffing less, handling breaking balls and offspeed pitches better than ever, and pulling the ball in the air more often. He’s taken his walks and struck out at a tolerable rate.

I wouldn’t want to bet that he’ll continue to lead the club in offensive production, let alone that he’d continue besting Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, especially if he needs to transition back to more of a part-time bench role as the Twins roster gets healthier. But these are all the signs of a guy who’s figuring it out and making the most of an extended opportunity. It couldn’t have come at a more important time for the 2025 Twins.

Simeon Woods-Richardson​

One of the players no longer with the big league club is young starter Simeon Woods-Richardson, who was optioned to St. Paul following a short start in Baltimore earlier this month. SWR, who was a revelation last season after lowering his arm slot and gaining several ticks of velocity, had struggled to a 5.02 ERA and 5.25 FIP across seven starts to begin this season.

A major challenge for Woods-Richardson this season had been left-handed hitters, who had hit .347/.400/.569 with 8 extra base hits against him. The main culprit for that was SWR’s ineffective changeup. The pitch was far and away MLB’s least effective last season (-16 run value, allowed .417 wOBA), and those issues continued this season (-5 runs) despite SWR using it about half as often.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

As a prospect, Woods-Richardson’s changeup had once been considered his best pitch, but the movement profile of the pitch was negatively affected by his arm slot change. The pitch gained significant horizontal movement with the arm angle change and was simply too easy to hit in the air and for power, especially if SWR wasn’t on point with where he located it.

In his last start with the Twins before his demotion, Woods-Richardson ditched his changeup and instead deployed a splitter that had a much greater north-south orientation. In his two starts with the Saints so far, SWR has thrown the new split 26 times, mostly to left-handed opponents, indicating that getting a feel for the new offspeed offering is a development priority.

You may recall that Joe Ryan had a similar challenge upon his arrival in Minnesota in 2021, although he scrapped a poorly performing changeup in favor of the split he now wields over the course of a couple of offseasons. In any event, the development of SWR’s splitter will be something to monitor and watch for when he inevitably returns to the Twins later this season.

Griffin Jax​

When high-leverage reliever Griffin Jax walked off the mound in Atlanta on April 18, he’d gotten just one out, given up a run, and had loaded the bases while trying to protect a 3-run lead. Each of those runners would come around to score, leaving Jax with an 11.25 ERA over his first 9 appearances in 2025.

Jax has made 17 appearances since that day in Atlanta, across which he’s allowed only 2 runs (1.08 ERA) and sported a 29-2 strikeout to walk ratio. His FIP over this stretch is a minuscule 0.73, and Jax has punched out 46.8% of the batters he’s faced while allowing just a .183 batting average against.

A before-and-after comparison of pitch type usage reveals that Jax’s return to dominance coincides with a decreased emphasis on his fastballs and a renewed emphasis on his trademark sweeper and a re-introduction of the cutter that bridges between the two:

Data from Baseball Savant

Jax has gone from featuring about 37% fastballs to just under 23% with these adjustments. When interviewed on the television broadcast recently, Jax also made reference to cleaning up some mechanical issues. Sometimes adjustments are not complicated. It can be as simple as relying on your best pitches more often.

Griffin Jax, Wicked 89mph Back Foot Sweeper.

3011 RPM pic.twitter.com/u4jxolG2SU

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 8, 2025​

Three True Outcomes​

With about a third of the season in the books, I wanted to check in on the Twins’ offensive reliance on the three true outcomes — home runs, walks, and strikeouts. Readers will recall the strikeout record-setting 2023 club led all of baseball in the share of plate appearances that ended with one of those outcomes. That season now appears to be more of a product of circumstance and not a manifestation of a tightly held, enduring organizational philosophy:

Data from FanGraphs

This year’s Twins are currently 15th in MLB with a 22.2% strikeout rate, 27th with a 7.4% walk rate, and tied for 23rd with 51 home runs. The impending return of Matt Wallner and Byron Buxton should lead to all three of those marks increasing into the summer.

---

John writes for Twinkie Town, Twins Daily, and Pitcher List, with an emphasis on analysis. He is a lifelong Twins fan and former college pitcher.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/29/24437381/mlb-minnesota-twins-off-day-observations

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins Flashback 1965 World Series: Games 3-5

Photo by Diamond Images/Getty Images

LA’s pitching prowess pops

This weekend, I’ll be wandering the waysides of Seattle and taking in a couple of the Twins/Mariners clashes. Fifty years ago, the Minnesota Twins similarly headed west...

In just their fifth year of existence, the Twins found themselves in the World Series. Not only that, but they took a 2-0 lead after besting Los Angeles Dodgers stalwarts Don Drysdale & Sandy Koufax! With home field advantage firmly in tow, the Twins would play the next three contests under the sunny skies of Southern California’s Chavez Ravine.

Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images
A packed house

Game 3 (10/9/65)​

From the very first Twins hitter sent into the Dodger Stadium batter’s box, MN looked to have retained the momentum: eventual 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles hit a ground rule double off LA starter Claude Osteen. Alas, with Versalles on third base and Earl Battey at the dish, Zoilo’s mad dash to steal home was thwarted and no early lead established.

Set Number: X11040 TK3
Uh oh

Twins SP Camilo Pascual was neither sharp nor terrible—5 IP, 3ER—with John Roseboro, Lou Johnson, & Maury Wills touching him up for RBI knocks.

It mattered little, however, as Osteen (9 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K) had Twins batters eating out of his south paw. Absolute dominance from LA’s third starter to jump back into the series.

Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images
Osteen saves the series for LA

The eventual 4-0 Dodgers victory was played in a crisp two hours and 6 minutes—probably less than the traffic ingress & egress of most Hollywood-ites.

Game 4 (10/10/65)​

If I told you that Harmon Killebrew & Tony Oliva both swatted dingers in this contest, you’d probably assume a Twins victory. Sadly, such homer heroics proved inconsequential.

Mudcat Grant’s second starting assignment was disastrous—5 IP, 5 R, 4 ER—and the bullpen combination of Al Worthington & Bill Pleis could not stop the Blue bleeding. The usually light-hitting Dodgers rapped out 10 hits, including homers from Johnson & Wes Parker.

Meanwhile, unlike his Game 1 early exit, this was the Dandy Don Dodgers denizens were used to seeing: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. The Killer & Tony-O’s solo shots were the only blemishes on a 7-2 Los Angeles victory to even the series at two games apiece.

Game 5 (10/11/65)​

Now in danger of being torpedoed in Tinsel Town, the Twins sent Game 2 stalwart Jim Kaat out for a rematch with Sandy Koufax. As usual, the sequel was not as good as the original (at least for MIN fans).

In total control

Kaat’s afternoon was both short and ineffective—2.1 IP, 4 R, 3 ER—while Dave Bowell & Jim Perry out of the pen were similarly unable to put goose eggs on the line score. This time, LA lit up for 14 safeties in their 7-0 victory.

Truth be told, only a single cleat touching home plate would have been enough for Stunning Sandy: 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Peak Koufax, in today’s parlance.

It’s likely the Twins couldn’t board their flight back to MN fast enough after this disastrous West Coast swing. Two runs scored in 27 innings, never able to crack into LA’s bullpen, and the series advantage squandered.

Down 3-2, Minnesota would need to win once again in front of the friendly folks to push the series to a winner-take-all final tilt.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...ies-drysdale-koufax-osteen-killebrew-oliva-la

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins 12, Mariners 6: You didn’t expect this and neither did I

Weird USA Today “background” thing says “Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images.” I have no idea what that means. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Amazing comeback outlasts my ability to write about it sensibly as I’m more than a bit tired and adult beveraged.

A crazy comeback against a bullpen that doesn’t give up comebacks. Zebby Matthews delivers his best-ever MLB performance if you ignore his first inning. I basically thought I could phone this in after the Twins went down 6-3 late and I was completely wrong, but I sorta phoned it in anwyays.

Wow.

Inning-by-inning notes:

1: Larnach has a single, yet the most notable thing here is the rain of boos showered down on Carlos Correa. I guess they hate garbage cans in Seattle. Probably more into composting. (I like composting too.)

Zebulon Matthews faces a challenge against Bryan Woo, Seattle's best starter, and two singles to start things off don't help. (One provided by old friend Jorge Polanco.)

Cal Raleigh becomes the first catcher in MLB history to hit 20 home runs before the end of May. Randy Arozarena then becomes the first Arozarena to hit a homer tonight. Oh, ZebbyZebbyZebby. Mariners 4-0

2: Mariners fans like Ty France, though. He played 3+ seasons here, and was pretty solid.

Miles James Mastrobuoni's last name is pronounced "Mastroboney." I dig it.

3: Twins hitters have all found out that the Woo ain't nothin' to fuq with.

Reminds me of when politician David Wu ran for Congress in the Portland, OR area. Every "WU FOR CONGRESS" sign got stolen within hours. I know I stole one. David Wu won, served 10+ years in Conress, and resigned after some pretty horrible stuff was revealed. So maybe we shouldn't elect people because their signs are fun to steal.

4: Trevor Larnach hits a homer. Jeffers hits a double and Gladden calls him Trevor. Correa gets booed again, but advances Jeffers to 3rd and Brooks "Christopher Dracula" Lee groundouts him in. Scoring!

I really find the pronunciation "Mastroboney" funnier than an adult person should. The Pilots Left 4-2

5: Poor Royce Lewis is really struggling right now. I dunno if a minors stint would help. I feel bad for the guy.

Woo has something wrong with his finger and the trainers come out. He almost walks Buxton but when Bux recoils from a pitch up and in, it hits the knob of his bat, so it's a foul. Buxton flies out.

Zebulon is channeling his inner Brad Radke here; get bombed in the first inning, settle down after that. I'll take it.

6: The Twins do little. The Mariners this year are undefeated after leading past the 7th inning.

This will make you hate me. There was a 1969 Perry Como song, “Seattle,” which was originally written for a short-lived TV knockoff of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers called Here Come the Brides. It was a minor hit for Como, and it is terrible. You’ve got Sinatra doing “My Kind of Town” (about Chicago) and “New York, New York” (about Rochester); you’ve got Tony Bennett doing “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” And then you’ve got this fuggin’ thing:

They actually sing this at Seattle Sounders soccer games.

To make it up to you, the show Here Come the Brides had former vaudeville/comedy star Joan Blondell, famous for her fast-talking, wisecracking roles. Here’s a 1932 publicity photo of her that was banned after the Hays censorship codes were fully enforced in 1934:

From Wiki at this link, public domain.

Awesome!

Good for Zebby: a nice five innings after the first.

7: Homer for Castro! Zebby still in to start the inning. Zebby finishes! Let's see if the Twins can bust that Mariners' bullpen streak, here. Seasteaders 4-3

8: not yet

...and now Raleigh is the first catcher to hit 21 homers before the end of May. Cole Sands takes the ERA whammo. The Mollusk 6-3

9: Wait, Willi with ANOTHER homer? Who does this freak think he is?

A Buxton single! A Larnach RBI! We are tied! I am happy, but I'm running out of beverages my doctor would advise me not to imbibe.

10: i stopped taking notes and just went “holy poopers”

Just read the official site, I did. I was too stunned to take notes. Essentially, when Correa and Buxton are healthy, they are really, really good at baseball. Correa homered to score the Manfred Man, and Buxton snuck one through the infield to score two more. This was GOOD.

Studs of the game: Post-Radke Zebby, everyone else, no duds, Twins win!

Comment of the game goes to Nagurskiinnortheast for this streaking story: “‘My friend streaked on the field at Yankee stadium during his “dancing girls and blow” days... and went right by Dave Winfield who a few years later came to the restaurant we were working at when he was playing for the twins!... f****n classic (...) And my buddy asked him if he remembered that and we all laughed... Dave was like uh yeah how the hell could I forget something like that’”

Sorry I was too tired for a full TwinkieTown After Dark night, folks, but maybe next time, and still thanks everyone for commenting!

Tomorrow’s game features Chris Paddack and Luis Castillo at 3:10, and I think it’s on Fox 9, so enjoy that if it’s on free TV! Or don’t if I’m wrong! Or don’t if I’m right! Or do if I’m wrong! I’m not the boss of you.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/...rs-6-you-didnt-expect-this-and-neither-did-me

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Mariners 5, Twins 4 - F/11 : Drama in Spades

A well-fought contest evens the series for Seattle.

The pregame crew talked up Dodgers/Yankees as the marquee matchup of the evening, and indicated that they’d have a small coalition of viewers disappointed to learn that they’d be treated to Twins/Mariners instead.

Well, the joke is on all of us. The Dodgers were up 10-0 in the second inning and won 18-2. The Twins and Mariners, meanwhile, followed up last night’s high-stakes affair with another intense, back-and-forth, thrilling national game.

Let’s get into it.

Having a guy Matt Wallner in the middle of the lineup is a major boon for any major-league team, so imagine what having the actual Matt Wallner is like. Well, tonight, the Twins didn’t have to imagine — they witnessed reality borne before them, when Wally clobbered a two-run dinger in his first at-bat back off the IL.

But the good times can’t last forever, as the 3-0 lead was quickly manscaped to a 3-2 score by none other than Big Dumper, who extends his major-league record for homers smashed by a catcher before June. It was a tip-your-cap kind of swing, beating a Bailey Ober offering, out of the zone by a decent margin.

After that, the —

Uh-oh!

ALARM DELAY!​

Yes, you’ve heard me correctly ... the fourth inning began with an alarm delay, with all fire alarms and their associated strobing lights kicking into gear around the entirety of T-Mobile Park. After multiple attempts to restart the system without success, the crew chief took the mic to deliver a fire department-related announcement, only to be interrupted mid-speech by the alarm finally turning off ten minutes later.

It was fine, because it gave me a chance to tune in a little harder to 1991’s True Colors, which I had playing on my adjoining CRT TV. (I’ve seen it before; I’d never disrespect the raw sexual chemistry between John Cusack and James Spader on display in this film by relegating it to mere background viewing unless I’d already seen it. At times, its political rise-and-fall narrative was as interesting as some of the quieter innings in this one.)

Anyway, a combination of lengthy delays and frequent full counts led to Bailey Ober’s removal from the game in the fifth inning with 97 pitches chucked, runners on the corners, nobody out, and Cal Raleigh due up again.

With T-Mobile Park suddenly electric, Louis Varland was summoned to slam the door on Seattle’s snowballing momentum, and did just that with a brilliant curve-laden pitch sequence that struck Raleigh out looking on a fastball over the heart of the plate. Then he got Julio Rodriguez swinging late on a fireball at the top of the zone, and induced an outfield pop from Randy Arozarena to escape the inning with the lead intact.

Varland’s inning included five whiffs across three batters faced and generated effusive praise from national broadcasters Jason Benetti and Adam Wainwright, which would probably make any young pitcher feel good about themselves (but probably not as good as this article made him feel. Here’s lookin’ at you, Lou!)

Well, then the vibes went down the drain.

After a night’s worth of a larger strike zone than the rulebook probably suggests, home plate umpire Austin Jones got fed up by the feedback, and — in a manner that I will happily describe as reactionary — ejected Carlos Correa for an unknown comment from the on-deck circle. It was the first ejection of Correa’s entire career, and while we’re not sure yet what prompted it, Correa’s immediate fiery reaction suggested that it might have been a bit of a snap judgment on the part of the home plate umpire.

Corroborating this take is the fact that Rocco Baldelli had sprinted out of the dugout and nearly reached Jones before the ejection arm had come all the way down; he himself was tossed seconds later, and both manager and shortstop remained on the field getting their money’s worth for an extended period.

It was the sort of emotional boost the Mariners needed.

Facing Jorge Alcala in the home seventh, they swung the lead around to their side with one swing of the bat.

The Mariners, whose overtaxed bullpen has been pulling routine double overtime shifts this week, had little room to bend, let alone break, with six outs left to record. So when the eighth began with a Wallner HBP and a Willi Castro bloop single, it looked like the bending was on.

But a brutal blunder handed struggling M’s reliever Kowar a gift from the baseball gods; Kody Clemens lined out to left, and Wallner was promptly doubled off second base in a momentum-crushing TOOTBLAN blow.

So, Carlos Vargas was called upon to throw for the third straight day, and it was down to a Ryan Jeffers/Byron Buxton/Trevor Larnach contingent to attempt to tie this game for the last time.

You know what they say about speed?

Well, this is what it do.

With one out, Buxton chopped a ball maybe 45 feet back to the pitcher. But Vargas, knowing the fleet Buxton was already flying down the line, rushed the throw crazy-style and chucked it down the right field line. Buxton took the requisite extra base, and then said, “Double it and give it to the next guy,” taking third as well.

Suddenly, the entire complexion of the game had changed again. And with Buxton now 90 feet away from tying the game, it didn’t take much for Larnach to play the hero again; he dutifully donned the cap and singled Buck in with a liner into right.

4-4.

So, the buck was again passed to Seattle, increasingly motivated to avoid extra innings due to the nature of a bullpen aggressively approaching “last-legs” territory. So rookie Cole Young singled his way aboard (his first major-league knock), and J.P. Crawford, the earlier hero, hit a bloop double that Harrison Bader retrieved quickly enough to hold the winning run at third with two outs.

For acting manager Jayce Tingler, the ensuing decision to walk Cal Raleigh to face Julio Rodriguez proved a near-immediate call. And Griffin Jax, who’d already induced two aggressive swings-and-misses, got J-Rod a third time on a diving changeup out of the zone to preserve the tie and send both sides to extras — again.

So, in the top of the 10th, Minnesota’s lineup went to work against a Mariners team lacking any remaining arms that would make Seattle fans be like, “Yeah! He’s rested AND good this year!” It was Collin Snider who got the gig, walking his first hitter, then giving up a single to Kody Clemens after a brilliant 11-pitch at-bat.

But because this game didn’t have enough drama yet, Wallner was canned on the bases again — this time attempting a score, cut down by an immaculate throw by J-Rod from center field. And Harrison Bader’s 5-4-3 double play set up a grim outlook for Minnesota, who now faced the prospect of pitching to the Mariners with the winning run at second base to start the home 10th.

But the Mariners ran straight into the Jhoan Duran buzzsaw in their half, inducing weak contact, and a pivotal strikeout looking to Mitch Garver, to send an energized Twins lineup back into the box for the 11th inning.

This, of course, made it all the tougher to swallow when Minnesota — who put runners on the corners with nobody out — exited the 11th without a run to show for it. After a bunt pushed the winning run to third in Seattle’s half, Cole Sands faced the aforementioned Young — young both in name and, you know, earth years — with a chance to be the ultimate hero in his first big-league game.

No, he didn’t hit it very hard. But he hit a weak chopper just weakly enough to Ty France, and just slowly enough to allow time for the Manfred Mann to slide in safely, just ahead of an on-time tag from Ryan Jeffers.

Ballgame.

COURTESY: Baseball Savant

There’s not much more to say about this one after 1300 words. It’s the kind of loss that would have felt unrecoverable about four weeks ago; instead, it’s a well-earned win for the Mariners after the Twins stunned them on Friday night. It’s a hard-fought loss for a Twins team that continues to prove they can stage huge comebacks and record pivotal outs in crucial moments — just maybe not for 11 innings in a row, but hey, who can? Not me.

I don’t even play baseball.

I don’t think any of us do. Sound off in the comments if you are currently being rostered by a major-league team.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/31/24440797/mariners-5-twins-4-f-11-drama-in-spades