Bailey Ober and the Twins’ offense not so hot, although Royce Lewis improves from hitting .139.
Bailey Ober’s miss-bats mojo goes missing after a strong early stretch, and the Twins tag Toronto’s “opener” but go quiet after that. Inning-by-inning notes:
1: Woo-hoo! We’re dogsitting for people who have MLB’s every-team package, and there’s no more blackouts here, so I get to watch the teevee!
Larnach LAUNCH! Way to beat on the “opener.” Actually beating the guy with soap in towels is not morally advisable, so scoring is better. Twins 1-0
2: Correa out for the third straight game with back issues; the crack Twins training/diagnostic staff strikes again.
Just like Bo Bichette is the son of Dante, and Vlad Guerrero the son of Vlad, Alejandro Kirk is the son of William Shatner. (Who is actually from Toronto, so…)
Leadoff Lee single followed by a struggling Mr. Royce double! Kody Klemens groundouts the RBI, Harrison Bader whiffs on his chance, and we’re in the hands of Christian Vázquez, so… a double! Saved by a Vázquez! Or, more accurately, saved by a Christian, which is very missionary of him. Missionary in the OTHER sense, you pervs. Little Canada 3-0
3: I had to use the restroom. Do you need notes? OK, Trevor Larnach flew out on the first pitch, and he usually takes first pitches. I washed my hands before typing this.
4: Second-year RF Addison Barger has been crazy hot of late, four dingers in his last six games; make that five in seven. And unfortunately Bailey plunked Vlad just before this, so that’s a safety. Per Wiki, “Elective safeties are more common in Canadian football, where they can result in better field position than a punt.” Now you know.
LHP Eric Lauer is doing better at this “bullpen game” thing than opener Paxton Schultz did. That’s now two ugly strikeouts for Bader so I say we demote him to Cedar Rapids.
5: Time #2 through the lineup not going well for Mr. Ober. A single, hard flyout, Andrés Giménez double, and duck fart give Toronto the lead. falcolntimmy types “Wallner needs to make that catch in his home ballpark. Really didn’t see the value of a drawn in infield in the 5th inning. Don’t know if Lee could have made a play on the pop fly playing back, but certainly didn’t playing in.” Hard to argue with that assessment of the outcome. Bigger Canada 4-3
6: Time #3 through the lineup not improving for Mr. Ober. Springer hits his longest dinger of the year. I shoulda stayed in the bathroom. LHP Mason Fluharty has a goofy name and stymied the Twins last inning. He still has a funny name and gets the first two Twins; the more normally-named Yariel Rodríguez finishes things off.
I’m watching the Toronto feed (not by choice) and I love how the stats in the corner are things like how a pitcher’s fastball speed has increased over the years. Not f***ing “prop bet” garbage like you get in America. Now just send me all the poutine and I’ll be happy. Maple Leafs 5-3
7: Bichette takes off too early from first with two outs, haha. At least Ober’s off night is not eating all the bullpen. The Twins look like they’re fooled by every pitch.
8: Justin Topa in. Vlad doubles and Kirk singles and Spock says that to believe in the Twins winning would be illogical.
A Larnach walk and France single put runners on the corners with nobody out. Ryan Jeffers PHs for Wallner and takes what’s clearly ball 4 for strike 3, and all hope dies. OK, Royce does have a two-out hit. Is he fixed now? I hope so. But I feel Helpless helpless helpless helpless 6-4
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
9: I’m gonna have a beer. ‘Cuz Jeffers got hisself ejected by Bad Strike Call ump, Vázquez has to hit again, and it’s not what you want. Jeff Hoffman gets the save, his dad’s name is not Trevor, Twins lose
Studs of the game: Twins middle-infield defense (good plays by Lee & Clemens), Lewis’s bat being fixed now. Duds: Ober second/third time thru lineup tonight, Bader (0-4, 4 K), Rob Manfred for worshiping the gambling that makes US broadcasts depressing/annoying
Good thread tonight, fun Twins broadcasters discussion. COTG go to nagurskiinnortheast for jinxy but fun “The gangly one is not to be f*****d with tonight..lfg!”, sandwiches for “The home plate ump needs a hug” after Jeffers got tossed, and Minnesota1952 for a Vanhattan recipe.
Tomorrow’s game is at 1:10, and features the very good Kevin Gausman against the not-awful-yet-this-year Chris Paddack.