WARNE: Nuggets From Twins’ Fifth Straight Loss

WARNE: Nuggets From Twins’ Fifth Straight Loss

Aug 24, 2016 | Cold Omaha

Written By Brandon Warne (ColdOmaha.com)

The Twins and Tigers just beat the downpour that swept into downtown Minneapolis following the game, as Detroit took advantage of command woes from starter Kyle Gibson and perhaps the opposite issue from reliever Michael Tonkin on the way to a 8-3 on Tuesday night at Target Field.

Gibson lasted just five-plus innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks as he failed to capitalize after coming off a complete-game win over the Braves in his previous outing. Location was Gibson’s issue all night long, as he finished with 98 pitches but just 51 strikes. Tonkin came on in relief, and threw 24 pitches (16 strikes) to record four outs, but also allowed three earned runs on four hits — including two massive home runs — as the Tigers pulled away from there.

Pat Light came on to record a couple outs following giving up a leadoff hit in his Twins debut, while J.T. Chargois and Pat Dean threw clean innings to close it out.

And while Anibal Sanchez went seven strong innings for the Tigers in the win, he too struggled with his command in the early going, as he jockeyed back and forth around the 50 percent mark for strikes thrown in the early innings and even gave up the lead twice before his offense bailed him out. He wasn’t dominant — three earned on six hits with two strikeouts and no walks — but he was able to do what Gibson couldn’t; that is, reverse early command woes to settle in and have a strong start.

Here’s what we saw from our seats:

Brian Dozier set a new career high in home runs

Dozier’s 29th longball came on a 1-1 pitch from Sanchez in the fifth inning, as he hammed a hanging curveball to the bullpen in center to give the Twins a short-lived 3-2 lead. In an ideal world, it would have given the Twins a 4-2 lead, but just one pitch earlier, Danny Santana was thrown out at second trying to pick up an extra base on a pitch in the dirt. Tip your cap to Tigers catcher James McCann, who not only got a handle on the ball but fired a seed down to second to nip Santana. Replays showed an awfully close call that might have gone either way with an official review, but manager Paul Molitor said after the game that he didn’t get enough of a sense that the call would go their way based on video they were looking at.

Dozier’s previous career high in home runs was 28, which came just last year. Of Dozier’s 29 home runs, 24 have come since June 1. Dozier needs two more RBI to match his career high of 77 — also set last season.    

Gibson threw first-pitch strikes to everyone in the first inning — and very few thereafter

Gibson started Ian Kinsler, Erick Aybar and Miguel Cabrera each off with first-pitch strikes in a 1-2-3 first inning, but it was all downhill from there. Gibson led off the second with first-pitch strikes to both Victor and J.D. Martinez before missing to the next five batters over the rest of the inning. That stretched into the third as he went 1-0 to all four batters that inning.

All told, Gibson delivered a first-pitch ball to nine batters in a row between the second and third innings before he rebounded in the fourth to throw first-pitch strikes to all three batters in that frame. Ultimately, Gibson threw first-pitch strikes to just 12-of-24 batters. Sanchez was marginally better at 16-of-26.  

The Twins just didn’t make Sanchez work

As noted, Sanchez also had issues throwing strikes early in the game. But even the, the Twins didn’t really make him pay. Sanchez faced just eight batters over the first two innings when the command issues were the worst for him, and after making him throw 15 or more pitches in each of the first three innings, the Twins couldn’t get Sanchez up over that mark in any of his final four frames. In fact, he needed just 17 pitches for his final two innings of work.

Furthermore, after the Dozier home run in the fifth inning, Sanchez, Alex Wilson and Kyle Ryan combined to set down the remaining 13 Twins batters in order.  

Sano’s OPS dipped back under .800

Sano went 0-for-3 to drop his season batting line down to .239/.330/.468 — a .798 OPS. Sano’s OPS was last under .800 following play on Aug. 6, when it also dipped to .798 following a 1-for-4 performance against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Don’t look now, but Sano’s last hit came on Aug. 12, as he’s mired in an 0-for-21 slump since homering to lead off the bottom of the second inning against Yordano Ventura at Target Field.  

Both Santana and Eddie Rosario showed their trademark impatience

Rosario finished 0-for-3, and saw just seven pitches all night. In his first two plate appearances, he dug 0-2 holes before making weak contact, and in his final trip to the plate he chased a first-pitch curve which he lifted to left field.

Santana was just 1-for-3, but opened the game seeing just one pitch apiece in his first two plate appearances — an ill-advised bunt back to the pitcher and a single.

Twins pitchers had no answer for the middle of the Detroit order

The formidable four for the Tigers from batters Nos. 2-6 (Miguel Cabrera, Victor and J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton) combined to go 10-for-18 with a walk. Gibson had Cabrera’s number early with two strikeouts in his first three at-bats, but Cabrera feasted on the Twins pen with a booming double to left off Tonkin — one pitch after he was dusted off the plate and two pitches before V-Mart followed with a massive home run to right — and a single against Dean to lead off the ninth. Not only did V-Mart hit the home run in the seventh, but he also led off the second inning with one of the most inexplicable infield singles you’ll ever see. Martinez doesn’t move very well, but the Twins had the lefty shift on for him and he snuck it past shortstop Jorge Polanco, and by the time Dozier corralled it there was no time to get the out at first.

J.D. started out 0-for-2 before singling Victor over to third in the sixth. Victor ultimately scored to knot the game at three apiece as Gibson gave back the lead his offense had given him in the bottom of the fifth just seven pitches into the top of the sixth. Martinez added another single in the seventh, as he was the first batter Light faced as a Twin. Light went fastball (94 mph), fastball (95) and then slider (84), and Martinez stayed on it for a sharp single to left. Light recovered to fan Upton with a nasty 85 mph slider, but that came after the Tigers’ big free agent acquisition doubled on a 3-0 pitch from Gibson in the second inning, smashed a wicked one-hopper past Polanco for a single in the fourth and walked in the sixth to close the book on Tonkin. Upton was 6 for his last 10 after the single, and looks to be putting his tough start to the season behind him.

All in all, batters 2-6 only drove in two runs on the night, but the scored six of the Tigers’ eight overall.

Sanchez was called for a balk in the second inning

You just don’t see those often, but second base umpire Jim Reynolds said that Sanchez failed to pause as he delivered a pitch to Sano, which allowed Max Kepler to go to second and kept the Twins out of the double play as Miguel grounded to short to end the at-bat. The Twins failed to capitalize however, as Rosario popped to short and Juan Centeno rolled over on a 2-0 splitter to Kinsler for the third out.

J.T. Chargois found a little more wiggle with his stuff

The rookie reliever came in sporting a paltry 2.6 percent swinging-strike rate on the season. Basically what that means is that in the 108 pitches he’d thrown in the big leagues entering Tuesday, he’d generated just three swings and misses. That’s….not ideal. The raw stuff is clearly there — he was up around 98 mph with his two-seamer on Tuesday and sat (yes, sat) 92 with his changeup — but the results just weren’t there.

Things were….at least a little better on Tuesday, as Chargois got a couple swinging strikes on the eight two-seam fastballs he threw. And while two whiffs 13 pitches thrown isn’t going to get anyone too hot and bothered, it’s still nearly as many as he had in more than 100 pitches prior to that. Once he settles in, the swings and misses should come. His raw stuff is too good for it not to.

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Notes & Quotes

  • This marked the Twins’ fifth straight loss.
  • The Twins had beaten Detroit two times in a row prior to Tuesday’s loss. They’re now just 2-8 against the Tigers this season.
  • Joe Mauer singled in the first inning to snap an 0-for-12 streak. Mauer also added his 800th RBI in the third, the sixth player to do so in Twins history and first since Justin Morneau in 2012.
  • Santana’s fifth inning single snapped an 0-for-15 skid.
  • Kinsler fouled out to both outfield corners as both Santana and Kepler had to reach into the crowd to make a play. According to George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press, the second foulout dropped Kinsler to 1 for his last 29.
  • Dean’s scoreless ninth marked the first time in his big league career that he’d not allowed a run in any appearance.
  • Gibson on how he felt: “I wish every game felt like I did in Atlanta, but that’s just not realistic. I didn’t feel as fresh or as sharp, but they did a good job of taking some close pitches and making me work hard.”
  • Gibson on if rain was a factor in him losing his grip on the two-seamer that nearly hit J.D. Martinez: “I mean it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. It’s always just kind of a variable when you’re out there. You know…spiking a curveball to Upton I think it was…it was a couple pitches that when they’re that far out of the zone….but once again it’s not something I haven’t dealt with.”
  • Gibson on if additional fatigue due to pitch count from his last start may have played a factor: “I don’t know. I think it’s definitely something you’ve got to pay attention to when you throw 115, 116 pitches. Making sure you get enough rest, and still throwing a bullpen because there’s things I wanted to work on. But I don’t know if that played a part into not feeling as good. It could have, but it’s kind of the same thing. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t want the ball every inning and then complain about not feeling fresh five days later. I don’t think that’s an excuse I’m willing to use.”