The Twins scored 27 runs in three games against the New York Yankees. As good as that sounds, it wasn’t good enough because the Yanks scored 30 runs over that span to take two of three games from the Twins, including Wednesday’s 10-7 win.
The Twins ability to hit and score runs has never been in question this season. But as the losses continue to mount and the lead in the AL Central falls to two games, it’s clear the Twins have some serious pitching needs, both in the bullpen and in the starting rotation.
There’s been plenty of speculation and rumor about what the Twins might do before the July 31 trade deadline. I hope it’s much more than that because without a deal, I don’t think the Twins can keep pace in the division. The Cleveland Indians are on fire. They improved to 14-4 in July after a 1-hit shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Twins are 8-10 this month.
And yet the front office tandem of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine doesn’t let on much about what they might do. The following tweet is about as insightful as it gets these days.
Derek Falvey, Twins' CBO, on whether the Twins can add to the payroll at next Wednesday's trade deadline: "I would say that we definitely have support from [owner] Jim Pohlad on what we need to add in terms of salary."
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) July 25, 2019
Jose Berrios gets the ball Thursday against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Bear down, Jose. We need you.
Extra innings…
-The Twins schedule looks like this: four games at Chicago, three at Miami and then they come home to play the Royals, Braves and Indians for four games on Aug. 8-11. That series could be huge.
-Starter Jake Odorizzi was terrible Wednesday. He allowed nine runs, all earned, over four innings. He likely would’ve been pulled before the fourth had it not been for an exhausted bullpen. But rookie Devin Smeltzer, just like Cody Stashak the night before, was impressive. He struck out four over five innings and allowed only one run. He also had the quote of the night.
Smeltzer said that he's confident in what he's showed the #MNTwins this season and is ready for a second-half bullpen role if asked.
“One hundred percent. If it's playing in short, right, catcher, being the batboy, I don't care. Whatever helps the team win, I'm here for.”
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) July 25, 2019
-The Blake Parker experience is over after the Twins designated him for assignment. The club also sent pitcher Kohl Stewart back to Triple-A Rochester and called up reliever, Carlos Torres, according to MLB.com.
Torres had a 2.79 ERA in 28 Triple-A appearances this season with 42 strikeouts and 18 walks in 48 1/3 innings, spanning stints with El Paso (Padres), Toledo (Tigers) and Rochester.