The Good: The Twins offense has been one of the best offenses in the majors of late. Tuesday night’s 10-7 win over the Phillies saw the Twins set a record for most home runs in one game this season. Denard Span hit his second homer of the year in the first inning, the red hot Trevor Plouffe hit his 10th in 2nd inning and Josh Willingham smashed his 12th homer of the season in the 6th.
Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Trevor Plouffe, Ryan Doumit and Jamey Caroll all hit doubles during the game and Ben Revere added to the cause by going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI. The only batter who had a bad game on Tuesday was the rookie Brian Dozier, going 0-5 with 2 strikeouts.
The Twins lost 9-8 to the Phillies on Wednesday night, but the Twins offense remained red hot. Plouffe and Willingham homered once again (11th and 13th of the season, respectively) while Dozier and Span added a double apiece.
The Twins’ offense is rolling right now with Ben Revere batting .342 with 7RBI and 9 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Trevor Plouffe continues to be the hottest hitter on the team. Plouffe has hit 9 home runs in his last 19 games. During this span he is batting .299/.325/.714 with 23 hits, 5 doubles and 1.039 OPS. In fact, Trevor Plouffe’s slugging percentage of .944 for the month of June is the highest in baseball.
The Bad: The Twins pitching continues to be one of the worst staffs in baseball. Despite gaining the win Tuesday, Nick Blackburn was shelled giving up 8 hits and 4 earned runs in 5 innings of work. The usually reliable Brian Duensing was hit hard in the 6th inning as he stepped in to relieve Blackburn – giving up 2 hits and 3 earned runs on his own.
Things only got worse for the Twins on Wednesday night as PJ Walters gave up 4 hits and was lifted from the game without recording an out. Walter’s final line was 0.0 IP, 4 hits and 4 earned runs. Jeff Manship and Anthony Swarzak did not fair much better in relief. Manship gave up 5 hits and 3 earned runs in 3 innings of work, Swarzak yielded 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 4 innings.
In the end, the Twins subpar pitching performance Wednesday squandered what was an otherwise outstanding game. That’s been the tale of the season so far for the Twins – the offense has been capable, but they can’t overcome some of the holes that the pitching staff puts the team into.
The Ugly: PJ Walters last 3 starts:
June 6th Vs. Cleveland
June 8th Vs. Chicago
June 13th Vs. Philadelphia
Walters was pulled during Wednesday’s start due to shoulder tightness – and it was apparent that Walters was not 100% almost immediately, as his fastball velocity was only hitting 83 MPH on the Target Field gun.
Injury aside, it’s starting to look like teams are figuring Walters out. He never has had lights out stuff, but he can manage the strike zone and throw strikes. When he was first called up, that ability allowed Walters to keep the balls in play, keep the runners off the bases and manage the game. As teams are getting a better scouting report, it looks like hitters are ready for everything Walters has – as such, he’s been getting lit up in his past few starts.
As of my writing this, there hasn’t been a formal announcement about Walters’ status, but it’s likely that the Twins will store Walters on the DL for 15 days and let his shoulder injury recover. After that, it will depend on how desperate the Twins are for a starting pitcher – but I’d wager Walters would be sent back to AAA.
News & Notes:
The Twins announced last night that Lester Oliveros (best known as the player the Twins got from Detroit
In the minors (AAA & AA) this season, Oliveros had posted a 2.70 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36.2 innings of work. He’s a strikeout pitcher who has seen action with the Twins before (late in 2011) and should work nicely as a middle reliever for the short term.
With Walters likely heading to the DL, the Twins will need to make a few adjustments to their starting rotation. Liam Hendriks is expected to be called up to start Sunday’s game against Milwaukee Rochester Blackburn , Liriano, Hendriks) to the next weekend, which may be in time for Carl Pavano to come off of the disabled list.
With Hendriks’ (likely) promotion, the Twins will have to make a corresponding roster move. Jeff Manship could be sent back to AAA, as he’s been largely ineffective as a reliever in 4 appearances this season (5.68 ERA in 6.1 innings). Jeff Gray, who continues to be boom or bust in each appearance (1 hit, 0 ER in last night’s game. 3 hits, 3 earned runs in Saturday’s appearance) could be designated for assignment. The Twins could also demote a bench player such as Darin Mastroianni, Drew Butera or Chris Parmelee.
Parmelee was just promoted due to his hot play in AAA, but he has largely sat on the bench since his promotion. Likewise, Mastroianni has gathered dust since Ben Revere became red hot. Parmelee adds depth to the roster and has earned a chance to start so I don’t see the Twins sending him down. Mastroianni has played well when given the chance and is the team’s 4th outfielder; his demotion is unlikely as well. Butera is the emergency catcher and allows Gardy to rotate Mauer / Doumit and not worry about injury. He’s likely safe too.
If I was to place a bet on it (I’m not – that’s a silly thing to bet on…) I’d say Maship is likely to be sent to AAA. Gardy seems to like Gray too much to toss him and the bench has been established nicely with Parmelee, Butera, Casilla and Mastroianni.
Looking Ahead: Diamond (5-1, 1.61 ERA) takes the mound tonight vs. Blanton (5-6, 5.40 ERA) as the Twins go for their 5th straight series win.
Blanton has been struggling of late and Diamond is the Twins’ ace – this is a very winnable game. First pitch is at 7:10 PM CT – weather permitting.
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