Twins

[Gunner55]

SWR goes today @ 6.

[dutchboy]

Cleveland wins 2-1. SWR was good but the hitters couldn't scratch much out.

[Boar]

Howdy

[Gunner55]

Festa gets the ball @ 1 today.

[dutchboy]

Bases loaded nobody out in the 9th, Twins don't score. Lose 5-3.

After sweeping the double header Friday they squandered a big chance to hurt the Indians. Royals are next, Padres to follow.

[Gunner55]

I agree, db, they had a good chance to get another W in both of the weekend games & be 1.5 games back to start the week. Lopez takes the mound @ 6:30 tonight.

[KEN W]

Yeah.....hitting didn't come through. Actually if they had won both weekend games they would be 1/2 game ahead of Cleveland in first place.

[Gunner55]

  The latest I could find..............................1 day agoCorrea (heel) is sprinting on the field and is feeling better, but won't go on a rehab assignment until he sees how his foot responds to increased activity, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports

[KEN W]

KC right on their heels in the division. Will see if they have anything left after those 2 loses.

[Gunner55]

When Ryan went on the IL I was wondering if this could be in the works......................The Minnesota Twins are calling up right-hander Zebby Matthews, one of the fastest-rising prospects in baseball this year, sources tell ESPN. Matthews, an eighth-round pick out of Western Carolina in 2022, has 114 strikeouts and seven walks in 97 IP. Elite command, good stuff.

[dutchboy]

I wish the kid luck. Thats a big jump from A to the majors. Even though they will have him on a strict pitch count you just know the kid is gonna let er fly. I see another arm injury on the horizon.

[dutchboy]

Twins jump them 6-2 after 3. Lopez had a shaky 2nd but is settling in. Homeruns by Castro & Lewis hit a bomb.

[dutchboy]

Big win 8-3.

[Gunner55]

Some good work done by the 2 new guys in the bullpen yday too. Hope they can keep that up. I see that Topa has finished his rehab in Fort Meyers, so I would think he's back in St Paul. He might be ready to go soon but he's still on the 60-day IL. Zebby goes tonight, 6:30 again.

[dutchboy]

I remember 2-3 years ago the Twins were hyping some kid as the next big deal pitcher. Wish I could remember his name. Anyway he never for whatever reason made much of a splash. These kids are just prospects until they can prove something. I personally think it's unfair to toss a kid who started the year in A ball right into the pennant race after a few starts in AAA ball. Maybe he is a big deal, maybe he blows out physically trying to justify the hype? Anyway I wish him luck but aren't expecting much.

[Gunner55]

I guess Topa had a setback during his last outing, so they stopped his rehab. He's most likely done for the year IMO.

[dutchboy]

8-3 Twins in the 6th. Mathews was good.

[dutchboy]

13-3 final.

Vazquez, Kepler, Farmer homer.

[Gunner55]

Zebby threw 77 pitches & 49 were strikes, that's almost 2 out of every 3 (64.9%) & no walks. Not bad for his 1st MLB start. The Twins getting 3 runs in the 1st inning made his job easier & he said so too in his postgame interview with Audra Martin. Varland gets the ball @ noon today.

[Steve-o]

Good news on the field is welcome.

This might be old news, but since the new TV deal was struck with Diamond Sports and Xfinity, I'm not going to pop for the extra $116 per month to add the local sports.  It was a fun perk while it lasted, but I'm still out.  There's way to many bill collectors out there who want $100 a month from me.  I don't need another one.

[dutchboy]

KC wins the matinee today 4-1. So, split with Cleveland, take 2 of 3 from KC. I guess thats alright but at the same time disappointing when they took the first 2 games of each series.

[Gunner55]

Cleveland was in their worst losing streak in a little over 2 years, so I was a little disappointed that the Twins didn't find a way to win 1 of the weekend games too. Ober goes @ 7 tonight in Texas, on FS1 too.

[dutchboy]

Twins win 3-2, Castro homers and (take a deep breath) Farmer triples. Alcala gets the win.

[KEN W]

Ober should have gotten the win. But it was 2 to 2 when he left. Great job again for him. One of the best in MLB this season.

[Gunner55]

The winning score comes without getting a hit, we haven't done that in a while. SWR goes @ 7 again tonight, on MLBN too.

[Gunner55]

Ober walked 2 in the 1st & another in the 3rd, that's pretty unusual for him. In his postgame interview he said he didn't have very good command of his FB, so he was behind in the count a lot. That led to long innings & a high pitch count. Still, he figured out how to get through it early & was at his best the last 3 innings. 

[dutchboy]

Another tussle in Texas. Twins lead 4-2 after 5. Jeffers & Santana homer.

[dutchboy]

Twins only get 5 hits but hang on to win 4-3. 15 games over .500 in second place in the central.

[Gunner55]

  Actually, they are 69-53, db, & that makes 'em 16 games over .500 for the 1st time this season. Must be those rogue fingers again. Brewers beat Cleveland too, so they pick up a game.  Festa goes tonight @ 6.

[dutchboy]

From the Athletic.


Injury updates

Joe Ryan received a second opinion on his Grade 2 teres major strain and nothing changed about his diagnosis. Ryan traveled to Los Angeles on Thursday to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, after which he’ll be shut down entirely for “weeks probably,” Twins athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said.

Noting the original MRI was straightforward, Paparesta thinks Ryan probably received peace of mind from the visit.

“(ElAttrache has) seen other players that have had this injury that have all come back and had no issues moving forward with it,” Paparesta said. “It’s just a little bit more of just a comfort factor.”

Though Ryan exited his Aug. 7 start at Wrigley Field, he was hopeful for a short absence. But the MRI he underwent revealed Ryan would miss significant time and potentially might not pitch again this season, news the pitcher was admittedly shocked by.

“You don’t want to say the season’s over at any point,” Paparesta said. “We’ll wait and see how things go once we get a chance to look at him again.”


• Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis) needs to be comfortable running daily without feeling sore the next day, Paparesta said. He’s not there yet. Along with running, Correa is hitting, throwing and taking groundballs. Correa recently switched cleats, hoping to minimize soreness.

• Byron Buxton (right hip inflammation) exercised in a pool Friday, a sign he could be improving after receiving a cortisone injection. Though his MRI and ultrasound revealed no structural damage, Buxton initially felt hip soreness even when sitting down. Paparesta thinks it could be related to a 2022 hip injury that cost Buxton five weeks. The injury is possibly related to scar tissue from the previous incident, which makes Buxton’s timeline murkier. Paparesta was hopeful after Buxton worked out.

“We’re kind of heading in the right direction,” he said.

• Chris Paddack (right forearm strain) won’t go full throttle until he has a second MRI on Aug. 27 and is cleared by Dr. Keith Meister, Paparesta said. Paddack, who intends to pitch again this season, has played catch a few times. “Once that’s cleared up, we’ll get him moving a little bit quicker,” Paparesta said.

• Brooks Lee (right bicep tendinitis) should start throwing Saturday and hitting from the right side. If the throwing goes well, Lee will begin to hit lefty Sunday or Monday.

• After playing catch on consecutive days, Justin Topa’s elbow soreness is still present, Paparesta said. “We’re going to slow him down a little bit more,” he said.

• Indications from Dr. Timothy Kremchek were good on Brock Stewart’s rotator cuff and labrum after he underwent surgery Tuesday. “A lot of aggressive stretching for him moving forward, but Kremchek was really happy what he saw on the inside as far as long-term health,” Paparesta said.