Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (81 Pitches, 58 Strikes, 71.6%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Christian Vázquez (-.236), James Outman (-.233), Génesis Cabrera (-.189)
Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs):
Well, the nightmare is finally over. Or maybe it’s just beginning? Either way, the Twins had a chance to take a series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, against a team that had lost just three home series all year to this point. Of course, with yesterday’s loss, the Phillies had absolutely nothing to play for, with Milwaukee clinching the top seed in the National League.
They had their de facto ace, Cristopher Sánchez, pitching in his final tune-up for Game 1 of the NLDS Saturday, and he looked the part, not throwing a single ball until the third inning, 22 pitches in. Sánchez is a dominant pitcher, throws left-handed, and the Twins lineup (absent Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner and Luke Keaschall) was never going to have any answers. The Twins also were battling the Pirates for the second-best odds for the number one pick in next year’s draft, one game “better” than Pittsburgh at 70-91.
Simeon Woods Richardson took the ball for the visitors, and looked similar to what he has shown since his return from the IL in August: throwing strikes, sitting 93-95 with his fastball and baffling hitters with his newish split-changeup. He struck out nine while only allowing a cue-shot single from Bryson Stott over six dominant innings. He had more strikeouts against the Yankees in his other recent gem, but that was a New York team with major jet lag. Today may have been his best showing of the year; the Phillies had absolutely no solution for him.
Sanchez left after 5 2/3 innings, having allowed two hits while striking out eight. The second he left, with no runners on in the sixth, Lou Trivino proceeded to walk Austin Martin, who would score on a sharp double off the bat of Ryan Jeffers for the game’s first run.
The 1-0 lead would hold until the eighth inning, when Génesis Cabrera served up a game-tying home run to (who else?) old friend Max Kepler.
Extra innings ensued, and the Twins quickly went down 1-2-3 against Philly right-hander Orion Kerkering. Weston Wilson got his bunt down in the Phillies half, and Nick Castellanos hit a fly ball deep enough to win the game off Cody Laweryson.
Other trends I’m tracking:
Woods Richardson is starting to look like a building block, and will play a big part of any gutted, low-expectations team somehow managing to contend next year. If you heed the recent words of Cory Provus, and the Twins see Pablo López and Byron Buxton traded, then the 2026 rotation would be Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews and Taj Bradley, with Connor Prielipp, Mick Abel and Andrew Morris around for some depth (assuming David Festa isn’t able to return next year). That’s no 2011 Phillies rotation, but this version of Woods Richardson significantly improves that calculus and perhaps the returns on a hypothetical López and/or Buxton trade supplement it further. I also personally like the idea of having Abel replace Jhoan Duran as the closer—if only to make the trade look like a win within a year, while Eduardo Tait marinates in the minors.
The lineup has high upside guys on the way, as well, but they also have to hit right away, and that has not been a trend for young Twins hitters in recent years.
Royce Lewis was a little better in the second half this year, but still posted just a .289 OBP in that time. He hit 11 second-half home runs, played good defense and stole 12 bases, but that is a far cry from the Kirby Puckett comparisons he garnered just 24 months ago.
Trevor Larnach made a pinch-hit appearance, delivered a chopper turned double, and then was lifted for a pinch-runner. I’m probably in the minority on this, but I think Larnach gets better as he becomes an older hitter. He hits too many ground balls, but he doesn’t go into many major slumps and can hit a ball 450 feet at a moment’s notice. Through the lens of him being a first-round draft pick who was supposed to hit 30 bombs and bat .275, he’s a bit of a bust. Through the lens of a guy who has had two straight solid years with the bat and who can improvise and battle against tough pitchers, I do kind of like him as a platoon bat. The defense has been pretty rough, though.
James Outman and Brock Stewart, what a trade.
Austin Martin and Woods Richardson: the roller coaster of this trade for José BerrÃos is maybe at its high point, with BerrÃos shifting to the bullpen for the Blue Jays’ playoff run. We wanted a leadoff hitter and number-three starter out of that trade, and although it took a while, we may just have it.
What’s Next:
The Pohlads trim payroll to 75M. The front office will trade Buxton and López, acquiring three more post-hype prospects with big-league experience. The Pohlads release a statement using the Chat GPT prompt “deliver a message to the fans of our baseball team that conveys that we know more than them, if you had any brains you would cut payroll too, then use a bunch of corporate jargon to describe absolutely nothing while totaling over 250 words. Say something about like community and tradition or something.”
Baldelli is retained as manager, and the team makes one free agent signing: reliever Kyle Finnegan for one year and $5 million. Season ticket holder figures are revealed to have been cooked by including deceased fans of the old Washington Senators. Derek Falvey calls it an accounting error, while expressing “optimism about our group.”
Matt Wallner is visited by the ghosts of Richie Sexson, Adam Dunn and Dave Kingman, and becomes even more predictable. Due to a baserunning error on a home run, he becomes the first hitter in league history to hit more home runs than he has RBIs. Aaron Gleeman bursts a blood vessel defending him, while insisting it’s just a bit and he’s totally chill.
Postgame Interviews
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Coming soon
Bullpen Usage Chart
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WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
TOT
Adams
16
0
30
0
9
55
Funderburk
0
14
0
31
0
45
Ohl
0
20
0
22
0
42
Cabrera
11
0
12
0
17
40
Sands
0
12
0
0
11
23
Laweryson
12
0
0
0
6
18
Misiewicz
0
0
0
0
15
15
Tonkin
0
0
11
0
0
11
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