Twins Game Recap (8/9): Twins Set Home Run Record, Lose to Cleveland – Minnesota Twins – Articles – Articles – Twins Daily

Once again the Twins didn’t get enough from their starter and couldn’t sustain a rally and they fall to the Indians at Target Field, 6-2. Minnesota loses their fourth straight game for the first time in the year and are now tied with Cleveland for first place in the division, with a 70-46 record.

Image courtesy of FanGraphs

Box Score
Smeltzer: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 60.4% strikes (49 of 81 pitches)
Bullpen: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Home Runs: Castro (12), Rosario (25)
Multi-Hit Games: Polanco (2-for-4), Cave (2-for-4)

Bottom 3 WPA: Smeltzer -.191, Arráez -.085, Cron -.063

For the fourth consecutive game, the Twins didn’t get a good outing from their starting pitcher. Since Jake Odorizzi allowed only one run on Monday against the Braves, Twins starters have allowed a total of 28 runs, two of them unearned. Devin Smeltzer was off to a very good start, but he couldn’t get past Cleveland’s top of the order in the fifth.

Before the fifth inning meltdown, in which he gave up five earned runs on five hits, Smeltzer was able to hold Cleveland batters to just a one-run lead. With the exception of the second, he threw sixteen pitches or less in all other innings. He had also allowed only two hits before the fifth. Tyler Duffey took over, but couldn’t take care of the two inherited runners.

The Indians, on the other hand, were able to lock their second win of the series behind a fantastic start from All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber. Like Clevinger on Thursday, Bieber went into distance, nearly reaching 110 pitches. He delivered seven innings, striking out a total of eleven Minnesota batters.

Twins set new single season home run record
Exactly like in the previous three games, the Twins offense had to catch up and tried to start a rally. And they did it in record-breaking fashion. Jason Castro homered off Bieber to lead off the fifth, tying the club’s single season home run record, at 225. In the sixth, Eddie Rosario jumped on the first pitch of the inning to hit the milestone dinger, break the club record and put the Twins back in the game. It was Eddie’s 25th of the year.

Welcome to the show, Dobnak!
A dream came true for former Uber driver Randy Dobnak tonight, as he made his major league debut. He couldn’t have asked for a better one too. The Pennsylvania native pitched four scoreless innings on 68 pitches, keeping the Twins within a swing of a bat. He did get a huge help from the defense too, when C.J. Cron threw home to get Yasiel Puig in the seventh and Luis Arráez started a double play in the eighth.

Tied atop of the division for the first time since April 20, these two times play again tomorrow, with Odorizzi taking on the mound to face Adam Plutko. First pitch scheduled to 6:10 C.T.

Postgame With Baldelli
Coming soon.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days.