Heart Break in the Bronx!!

(by Travis Aune MN Sports Unlimited Founder)

The Twins had their incredible 2017 season came to an end at the hands of the Yankees in an 8-4 game.  The Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning but left guys on 2^nd and 3^rd with one out.  They left guys at 2^nd and 3^rd in the third inning too.  With a team like the Yankees, you can’t leave meat on the bone and the Twins paid the price.  A three-run homerun in the bottom of the first by Didi Gregorius to tie the game.  Aaron Judge hit a two-run home run in the 4^th inning put the Yankees up 7-4 to basically put the game away .

What I liked?

In the first inning, the Twins got off to a good start with a solo home run by Brian Dozier to put the Twins off to a 1-0 start.  After a Jorge Polanco walk, Eddie Rosario continued his breakout season with a two-run home run to put the Twins up by a score of 3-0.  After an Eduardo Escobar single and a Max Kepler double the Twins had runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with one out and knocked Yankees starter Luis Severino out of the game. 

Brian Dozier added a single later in the game and went 2-4 at the plate with five total bases. Dozier is the Twins 2017 MVP in my mind, and I hope the Twins can get him signed to a long-term extension.  Eduardo Escobar continued his career year going 2-4 at the plate to finish a career year. After Miguel Sano suffered a stress reaction in mid-August, Escobar saw increased playing time and made him an everyday player. He responded with 21 home runs which is nine more than he had ever done before. Taylor Rogers, Alan Busenitz, and Matt Belisle pitched a hitless last 1.2 innings.

What was disappointing?

The most disappointing thing was the pitching. That is not surprising as that has been the weakness all season. The one guy who struggled that I was not expecting was Twins ace Ervin Santana. Santana only lasted two innings and gave up four runs on three hits along with two walks. The big blow was the three-run homerun by Didi Gregorius to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Santana gave up a run in the 2^nd and then it was done.  The Twins were really counting on Santana to give them six to seven quality innings. So that was a bad omen from the start. 

The Twins then brought in phenom Jose Berrios who, to be fair, only had one relief outing in his MLB career. Berrios didn’t pitch great, going three innings and giving up three runs on five hits including Aaron Judge’s two run homer.  I was disappointed as the Twins top two starting pitchers went just five innings and gave up seven runs and eight hits.  No one expected that.

Another disappointing thing was leaving eight guys on base and going 0-6 with runners in scoring position. The worst part of it was leaving four guys on between the 1^st and 3^rd innings. That could have changed the game.

What’s Next?

Twins fans can’t lose focus of the fact that the Twins were coming off a 59-103 season to go 85-77 and get back to the playoffs. The Twins go into the offseason with much smaller needs than they had coming into the season.  Offensively, they could use a hitter that is good against left-handed pitching. The back end of the rotation could use some help. Santana, Berrios, and Kyle Gibson are locks. Adalberto Mejia is probably a lock but not entirely. With Chicago, Detroit, and likely Kansas City likely rebuilding, the Twins have to overcome Cleveland. There is work to do.