Twins

6/22 PREGAME NOTES: Rain Delay, Turley vs. Quintana and Escobar vs. Polanco

Photo credit: Brian Curski, Cumulus Media

Greetings from rainy Target Field, where the tarp is on the field and it’s supposed to rain until around 2:00 pm at the earliest.

I’m seeing 50 percent of thunderstorms and roughly 65 degrees from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on my phone, plus a 30 percent of t-storms until 3:00 pm. I’ll keep you updated on Twitter (@tschreier3).

It’s Nik Turley (L, 0-1, 12.46 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (L, 3-8, 5.07), assuming the game is played today. A win today would give the Twins their fifth sweep of an opponent this season, and only their second home sweep of the year.

Turley is making his third start, and Twins manager Paul Molitor says that his success is tied to how effective his curveball is.

“I know down there the big part of his success in getting a chance to come up was relating to his ability to throw that breaking ball a little bit more consistently,” said Molitor. “The hitters…he’s faced are relatively comfortable eliminating [the curveball] early on and just looking for the fastball.

“If we see some breaking ball for strikes early, I think it will help his chances going a little bit deeper today.”

The Twins have had success against Jose Quintana in the past, but Molitor is cautious about the matchup today.

“Maybe on paper not a great matchup to day with an experienced Quintana and a young Turley,” said Molitor, “but we’re coming off a couple of good games, and it’s just gonna be a matter of us trying to solve him once again, and hopefully Nik does a good job of giving us a chance.”

Jorge Polanco is back in the lineup today playing shortstop, meaning that Eduardo Escobar is back at third and Miguel Sano is DHing.

Escobar has hit safely in eight straight games, tying a career high, and is hitting .500 with a .543 on-base percentage during the streak. Polanco, on the other hand, has cooled off after a hot start to the season. He is hitting .161/.212/.161 this month.

“I don’t think that there’s anything major going on there,” said Molitor. “You don’t put unfair expectations on a first-year starter. Still have a lot of confidence in the fact that he goes up there with a good idea of how to try to give himself a chance to try and get a hit.

“We backed him off a couple of days here, and a lot of guys getting opportunities to get a little break from time to time.”

Asked if he thinks Polanco worried when he sees Escobar do well, Molitor says there’s no tension between the players.

“Part of our job is to make sure that there’s no secrets about what’s going on with who’s playing on a given day,” said Molitor.

“I’m sure for all players, as much as you hope that your team buys into [your play] there’s some thoughtfulness about what we’re doing each and every day, that they don’t get caught up in too much of themselves, which can happen.

“Escobar’s been swinging the bat really well, and no one’s really surprised that they’re trying to find ways to keep him in there fairly regularly right now.”

Rain delay, potential doubleheader

The Twins already have had three doubleheaders this season, and they have two more on the schedule. This is why, in part, the team is trying to get this game in today despite the turbulent weather.

“As a player, especially a young player, I don’t recall playing that many in my early years,” said Molitor when he was told his Milwaukee Brewers teams had ten and 12 doubleheaders in his first two years as a pro, respectfully. “I know that I didn’t worry about how it affected pitching and rosters and that stuff. There’s a lot more that goes into it.”

He says that some players embrace the opportunity to go out and play all day, and that as a manager it just requires some planning ahead.

Asked if he has a routine for his players in between games, he said “a little kumbaya,” in jest.

“We don’t formalize anything,” he said. “They have some down time, and whatever, guys may want to get a few swings in the cage.”

And as much as you can plan ahead, the randomness of baseball can sometimes throw even the most prepared manager off.

“You plan ahead, best you can,” said Molitor, who prefers the straight doubleheaders, rather than day-night splits. “Who’s to say where we’re gonna be that day in terms of pitching and who’s gonna start, and do we have to do anything roster-wise to make sure we have enough pitching for two games, all those kind of things.

“And who can play two days, two games, with short benches. There’s some people who are gonna get heavy workloads, especially given the fact that we’re right in the middle of a long streak, and follow that up with a couple more games.”

My guess is that they’ll play today, but if they don’t, it’s just one more thing on the plate of a manager who has seen a lot of craziness (15-inning game, both split and straights, act of God weather, etc.) this season.

Be sure to follow me throughout the game @tschreier3, but Brandon (@Brandon_Warne) may do the recap because I’m covering the NBA Draft across the street today.

Twins
Minnesota’s New Relievers Have Intriguing Breaking Ball Offerings
By Lou Hennessy - Mar 16, 2024
Twins
Griffin Jax Is Ready To Become Minnesota’s Next Elite Arm
By CJ Baumgartner - Mar 13, 2024
Twins

Why Are So Many Twins Pitchers Throwing Gyro Sliders?

Photo credit: Brian Curski, Cumulus Media

The Minnesota Twins are starting an organizational trend. Much like the sweeper last season and the splitter this season, pitchers add or tweak pitches to fit league-wide […]

Continue Reading