Twins 1, Royals 2: Indifference is Always Worse Than Sadness – Twins

Box Score
Pablo López: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Matt Wallner (-.164), Byron Buxton (-.144), Austin Martin (-.117)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

So the wagon continues to move. “Lethargic” doesn’t quite cover it; this is a team with dead, calcified innards only playing baseball because everyone involved is contractually obligated to do so. The power of the American dollar. At least Pablo López is back.

And he looked good. Mostly good. He wasn’t quite Sean Connery, but, rather, served as a solid Roger Moore, providing undeniable quality while lacking in the certain something that pushes his play to the top of the heap. The swing and miss—his bread and butter—wasn’t quite back, necessitating a reliance on fly balls. It mostly worked. Until he hung a sweeper to Maikel Garcia in the third. So it goes. 

Unfortunately for the Twins, Michael Wacha was starting for the Royals. The bastard. His endless supply of tricks typically befuddles Minnesota’s batters, and Friday was no exception; his floating changeup and looping breaking stuff portended five strikeouts and a lone earned run across 5 ⅔ innings. The veteran knows how to tangle up his opponent. It’s like watching hitters swing at an invisible ball. Or swing underwater. Or swing blindfolded. You get it.

But they did get him once. The culprit? Jhonny Pereda, who bled a 68.5 MPH double down the first base line to drive in Brooks Lee. 

Typically, this would be the paragraph that transitions us from the middle stages to the late stages; describes minor events; recounts reliever entrances; describes any changes in the game state. Not today. The Twins felt no need to alter their position: their suffocating mediocrity fell to the side of bland inaction. No hero journeyed forth. No great lesson was learned. Nothing was risked. Instead, a group of ballplayers strode to the batter’s box, accomplished little of note, and trudged back with indistinction. It would drive one to be upset if there was anything in this team worth finding emotion for. 

A runner reached against Carlos Estévez in the ninth. Mickey Gasper pinch-hit as the go-ahead run. He hit the ball hard, to his credit. Right at Kyle Isbel in center field. It’s futile, everything about this team.

Notes:

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins play the Royals again on Saturday, as Joe Ryan is set to start opposite Stephen Kolek. First pitch is at 6:15 PM. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet