Box Score
Pablo López: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Cole Sands (-.385), Brooks Lee (-.153), Byron Buxton (-.101)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
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I find Springsteen’s “Nebraska” album to be strangely attractive. It’s certainly dower in tone, but the Boss has always excelled at bringing to life tales of the downtrodden and troubled; sometimes the aesthetics of such songs begat a darker, brooding spirit. Shoot, the first half of “Born in the U.S.A.” is arguably just as dark in lyrical content. He just dresses it up with high-powered synths and an upbeat backing band. Yet, the tales of the unsuccessful are critical. Not every narrative should be about triumph. Sometimes, we need to sit in and wallow with the deeply flawed to learn more about ourselves. That was Bruce’s unique talent: he spoke about the average—and, frankly, below average—American in uncompromising terms.
These are the intros you get for a team 20 games below .500.
Friday continued the extended procession for our Ship of Theseus Twins. Their recent tangle with the Yankees resulted in exactly what you would expect, though Simeon Woods Richardson’s dominant start proved a nice respite from the same-old same-old. Today, they greet Cleveland, a team red-hot and nearing a playoff spot. Could Minnesota play spoiler to their old foe?
Pablo López took the mound. Though not for long. The righty pounced on a grounder that ricocheted off his person and tossed the ball to first to net the out. It was a hell of a play. It also forced him out of the game two innings later with right forearm tightness. So it goes.
Parker Messick commanded the ball for the Guardians. Yet another in the long line of Cleveland’s factory-assembled pitching competence, the anxious lefty baffled the Twins. He commanded a five-pitch mix like he had pitched since birth. He threw breakers when Minnesota expected the heat, and stole strikes with fastballs when Twins’ hitters were convinced something looping was coming. The end result was nine strikeouts—a total made more impressive considering the southpaw only went 5 ⅓ frames.
Well, that seems like a low total for a start that the author painted as dominant. It is. Messick looked unbeatable until the sixth, when Austin Martin shot a grounder back at him, which portended a horrific overthrow of the first baseman as Martin strode into second. Luke Keaschall then dumped a double into right as Martin advanced to third. He then scored off a wild pitch.
Messick netted one more out before being replaced by Matt Festa, who believed a chest-high fastball was an acceptable out pitch against Royce Lewis. He was wrong.
The excitement of a tied game died off as Cody Laweryson gave way to the other Kody, Funderburk, who gave way to Cole Sands. Sands’ troubles remained… troubling. The righty surrendered a pair of runs in the eighth, even as Funderburk gifted him the first out of the inning. Perhaps sensing his teammate needed company, Michael Tonkin then matched the appearance by allowing two more runs to push Cleveland’s advantage to four.
Such a lead doesn’t require a Cade Smith ninth-inning appearance, but the righty was warm anyway, so Stephen Vogt decided he shall appear. The half-inning took about three minutes, and the Twins dropped yet another game.
Notes:
Post-Game Interview:
What’s Next?
The Twins and Guardians play a doubleheader on Saturday, with Game One set to start at 12:10 PM, and Game Two slated for a 5:10 PM first pitch. Joe Ryan will start first, as Bailey Ober takes the night game.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
