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Matt Shoemaker is better than in some of his tougher starts (facing a crummy team doesn’t hurt), drizzly rain makes this a long one, and the Twins’ bullpen finally doesn’t melt in water like a wicked witch. Inning-by-inning notes:
1: Tarik Skubal sounds like a familiar’s name on
What We Do In The Shadows, and to prove this theory Kyle Garlick leads off with over-the-wall Vampire Repellant. (Think about it, it’s sooooo tricky!) The remaining Twins all strike out, perhaps forgetting that Adam Dunn wasn’t actually that good a hitter.
Ten innings the hard way: A guide to the Twins extra-inning ineptitude Here s a breakdown in all areas of the game that has led to the Twins string of failures and 0-7 record when play lasts longer than nine innings. May 7, 2021 7:24am Text size Copy shortlink:
At 0-7, the Twins have the worst record in extra innings in Major League Baseball this season. They are also tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the most extra innings games played this season, but the Reds have found much greater success at 5-2 overall.
The Twins have hit just .130 in the 10th inning of those games, producing two RBI on a Byron Buxton home run against Oakland, a game the Twins lost in the bottom of the 10th. They have struck out 10 times while accumulating six total bases. The pitching staff has just three strikeouts while allowing eight hits and three walks in 4
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MINNEAPOLIS The Twins placed utility man Luis Arraez on the seven-day injured list on Tuesday with a concussion after he was pulled following the sixth inning of Minnesota s 6-5 victory over the Rangers on Monday.
Arraez had a headache and a sore neck, manager Rocco Baldelli said, a result of an awkward slide at home plate in the third inning, when Arraez scored on Josh Donaldson s RBI double to put the Twins up, 2-0. He stayed in the game and continued to play left field for three more frames before he was replaced by Jake Cave when the symptoms appeared.
May 4, 2021
Throughout the season, most teams hold weekly meetings with their baseball leadership group, usually involving those at a director level or higher. These are often done via conference call or Zoom, as sometimes there is an executive with the team on a road trip and various scouting officials can be spread across the country (or even internationally) checking out players. Sometimes it’s a brief check-in just to see what everyone is up to, but around once a month, it’s time to dig deep on the road ahead and talk about some specific tasks to address needs and issues. While one month in the books is still a small sample size, it’s enough to get a vibe of where your team is at, and where it at least might be going, so I put together some bullet points for each team’s call this week.
Oh, it matters. I think AK is establishing himself very, very well, said Rocco Baldelli, who sometime this week will help decide who forfeits their roster spot to Miguel Sano. Kirilloff was promoted to the major leagues when Sano went on the injured list 10 days ago, and going hitless in his first 12 at-bats after the call-up made the move appear temporary.
Things have changed, as Baldelli s hint indicates. Since finally collecting his first hit last Monday, the 23-year-old rookie has a hit in six straight games and a home run, four in all, in all three games of this series.