Twins

Hitting Shines, Pitching Lags Behind in Rough September Start for the Twins

An embattled Twins bullpen looks to get Trevor May back on Friday. How quickly can he regain a high-leverage role? (Photo credit: Brian Curski)

With the Brian Dozier Show still touring, it’s not entirely surprising that the Minnesota Twins offense has been carrying the water for a team that’s just 3-4 thus far in early September action.

But while Dozier came into Thursday’s off-day with seven home runs for the month — which ties him with the Pirates ahead of 12 total teams for home runs-wise in September — it’s not just the second baseman who has been solid for the Twins as the calendar has flipped to the season’s final month.

Again, that’s not to diminish what Dozier has brought to the table this month, as he’s hit a staggering .406/.424/1.094 with eight of his 13 hits going for extra bases. Manager Paul Molitor said Wednesday night he couldn’t remember the last time Dozier had hit a single prior to hitting one off Royals reliever Joakim Soria in the seventh inning that night, and he was only half kidding.

But when an entire offense is hitting .302/.354/.592 for the month — a 148 wRC+ in September that ranks second to the Texas Rangers (154) — it’s clear that it’s more than just one guy who’s bringing the money over the last week or so.

Buxton has been red-hot since his return from Rochester on Sept. 1. (Photo credit: Brian Curski)
Buxton has been red-hot since his return from Rochester on Sept. 1. (Photo credit: Brian Curski)

Robbie Grossman had an excellent night Wednesday against left-handed starter Danny Duffy, and it’s clear that he’s at least got a role as a lefty masher off the bench and platoon partner in left with Eddie Rosario moving forward. He’s 4-for-6 in limited duty this month after missing some time with an oblique injury. Also hitting well is Grossman’s outfield mate Byron Buxton, who looks like a completely new player with four home runs in just seven games since his recall. He’s hitting a robust .462 since the Twins brought him back on Sept. 1.

Other names include John Ryan Murphy, pre-injury Trevor Plouffe and even Miguel Sano, who might only have six hits this month, but four have gone for extra bases as he’s hit a collective .250/.333/.583 in 27 September plate appearances. That’s a very Sano-like line.

Miguel Sano has played a key role in a resurgent Twins offense in September. (Photo credit: Brian Curski)
Miguel Sano has played a key role in a resurgent Twins offense in September. (Photo credit: Brian Curski)

It all adds up to an MLB-high 48 runs scored so far in September. And yet, knowing the Twins have lost more than they’ve won this month, it’s clear there’s still a problem.

The pitching has gotten absolutely obliterated so far this month. Somehow, coming into the off-day the Twins didn’t have the worst staff ERA in baseball, as their collective 7.64 mark was exceeded only by the AL West-leading Rangers (7.87).

The issues have been most highly-concentrated in the bullpen, as the relievers have combined for an astonishing 10.08 ERA so far through 27.2 September innings. Only one other team is even above 7.00 (Cardinals – 7.11) as the Twins are clearly in a class of their own out there. Make no mistake that the rotation hasn’t been good — the collective starters’ ERA of 5.87 ranks 21st this month — but it’s a far cry from the woes that have beset Molitor and bullpen coach Eddie Guardado’s relief crew.

The first thing that comes to mind is that Molitor has had to back off some of his preferred arms. Michael Tonkin got absolutely throttled in his final handful of appearances, and then came down with a sore shoulder that could have been seen coming down the road for a country mile. Tonkin hasn’t appeared in the entire month of September yet, and still ranks among the top-30 in reliever innings thrown with 63.2. That painful stretch — both literally and figuratively — has his season ERA ballooned all the way up to just under 5.00, when it resided at 3.76 on Aug. 2.

Molitor has also tried to back off from using Ryan Pressly as much, though the Texan righty has more innings (69.2) and appearances (66) than Tonkin. That’s due to the sheer fact that Pressly has been a key cog in an otherwise iffy bullpen, and in the semi-rare occasion that Molitor has a lead to protect late — or in some cases, even a close game in which the team is trailing — he’s had to turn to Pressly to try keep the situation under wraps. For the most part he’s done a good job — and in the opinion of this writer, should be given the chance to close to start next season — but he’s also coming off a serious lat injury that cost him a large chunk of last season. It might make sense to shut him down soon.

As a result of using some of his key guys less, that’s left Molitor with needing to use guys like Pat Light, Alex Wimmers and others in big spots rather than the low-leverage roles they’d ideally be ticketed for. The response has been….let’s just say, uneven.

Lefties Ryan O’Rourke and Buddy Boshers are both unscored upon this month in a total of 6 innings; the other six relievers who have thrown innings in September all have ERA marks of 6.00 and up, with Pressly the only one in single digits. That’s right, J.T. Chargois, Wimmers, Pat Dean, Brandon Kintzler, Light and Taylor Rogers all have ERA marks in excess of 10.00 since the start of September. In some respects, it’s a little surprising the Twins have managed to win any games at all this month.

An embattled bullpen ought to be fortified on Friday a bit however, as earlier in the week, Molitor said that the club would activate lefty Tommy Milone (biceps) and righty Trevor May (back) from the disabled list. Then again, that could further complicate things, as neither has pitched even semi-recently, and might need a bit of an acclimation process before they can be counted on in big spots, either.

All told, it’s been a strange month already, and it’s just seven games in.

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An embattled Twins bullpen looks to get Trevor May back on Friday. How quickly can he regain a high-leverage role? (Photo credit: Brian Curski)

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