ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
IN THE WEST: The D-backs are third in the NL West, 4.5 games behind the Giants and 7.5 games behind the Dodgers.
VS. TWINS: The D-backs face off in their fifth series all-time @ Twins and first since Aug. 18-20, 2017.
♦ The D-backs took 2 of 3 in their last series @ Chase Field from June 17-19, 2022.
♦ Arizona is seeking its fi rst victory in the Twin Cities since Sept. 22, 2014 (W, 6-2).
GURRIEL’S GOT SOMETHING GOIN’: Since July 30, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has hit safely in 6 straight games, hitting .364 (8-for-22)/1.119 OPS with 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 3 RBI.
LOURDES VS. TWINS: Over 18 career games vs. Twins, since 2018, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is slashing .311/.354/.459 with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 7 runs, 10 RBI, 4 walks and
1 hit-by-pitch.
♦ Since 2018, Gurriel’s .311 average vs. Twins ranks 12th in the Majors (min. 75 PA).
CLOSE ONES: 5 of the D-backs’ last 7 games have been
decided by 1 run:
July 29 vs. SEA ……. W ……4-3 ……… (+1)
July 30 vs. SEA …………L …….. 0-4 ………..(-4)
July 31 @ SF ……….. W ……4-3 (11) .. (+1)
Aug. 1 @ SF ………… L …….3-4 ……… (-1)
Aug. 2 @ SF …………….L …….. 2-4 ………..(-2)
Aug. 3 @ SF ………… L …….0-1 ……… (-1)
Aug. 4 @ MIN ……… L …….2-3 ……… (-1)
STRONG STARTS: D-backs starting pitchers, in their last 10 road starts, since July 19, have tossed 7 quality starts and boast a 3.83 ERA (24 ER in 56.1 IP), .216 opponent average (45-for-208), 1.01 WHIP, 12 walks and 44 strikeouts.
♦ In the span, D-backs’ starting pitchers rank among the NL in quality starts (T-1st, 7), WHIP (1st, 1.01), BB/9.0 IP (2nd, 1.92) and ERA (4th, 3.83).
DIAMOND DEFENDERS: The D-backs’ .990 fielding pct. is the best in the Majors while their 38 errors are the fewest, ahead of the Cardinals (43) and Rays (44).
♦ Arizona’s 38 errors are the fewest in franchise history through the first 111 games of a season…the previous low was 44 in 2018.
♦ The current franchise low for errors in a full season (excluding 2020) is 75 in 2013 and 2018.
CARROLL ON THE BAGS: Corbin Carroll’s 34 stolen bases rank third in the Majors, behind Ronald Acuña Jr./ATL (51) and Esteury Ruiz/OAK (43).
♦ Carroll’s 34 stolen bases are the most by a rookie in D-backs’ franchise history, ahead of Chris Young/2007 (27).
♦ Carroll’s 34 stolen bases rank fi fth all-time by a D-back in a season, behind Tony Womack/1999 (72), Eric Byrnes/2007 (50), Tony Womack/2000 (45) and A.J. Pollock/2015 (39).
♦ Since 1990, Carroll is 1 of 10 MLB rookies to steal 30+ bases at age 22 or younger:
MARTE TARGETING 100: Ketel Marte’s 97 home runs as a D-back are tied with Miguel Montero for ninth on the D-backs franchise list.
♦ Marte is 1 of 12 D-backs with 90+ home runs and looks to become the ninth D-back to reach the 100+ home run mark: 224 – Luis Gonzalez; 209 – Paul Goldschmidt; 153 – Steve Finley; 132 – Chris Young; 121 – Mark Reynolds; 110 – David Peralta; 109 – Christian Walker; 108 – Justin Upton; 99 – Matt Williams; 97 – Ketel Marte; 97 – Miguel Montero; 91 – Jay Bell.
MULTI-HIT MACHINES: D-backs players’ 250 multi-hit games are fi fth in MLB, behind the Red Sox (269), Rangers (266), Braves (258) and Nationals (255).
STARTING PITCHER – RHP RYNE NELSON ♦ #19
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: : In 12 road starts, is 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA (21 ER in 70.2 IP)… his 2.67 road ERA is fourth best in the Majors, behind Gerrit Cole/NYY (2.26), Blake Snell/ SD (2.41) and Josiah Gray/WSH (2.52).
- In his last 9 road starts, is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA (12 R-11 ER in 49.0 IP), 0.90 WHIP and .189 opponent average…the D-backs are 7-2 in those contests.
- In 6 of his last 7 starts, has pitched into the sixth inning and allowed 2 or fewer runs
in 5 of those 7 starts.
LAST START: Did not factor in the decison on July 31 @ Giants (ND; 2 ER in 6.2 IP).
VS. TWINS: Making his fi rst career start.
VS. AL CENTRAL: Is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA (4 ER in 10.2 IP) in 2 career starts.
- Won his last start on June 10 @ Tigers (0 ER in 5.2 IP).
ROAD RANKINGS: Since June 20, ranks among NL road leaders in innings pitched (1st, 38.2), WHIP (7th, 0.93) and ERA (10th, 2.33).
NASTY NELLY: Is 4-0 with a 2.77 ERA (16 ER in 52.0 IP) when he pitches 6.0+ innings (8 GS).
IT’S UNDER CONTROL: Has walked 2 or fewer batters in 15 of his 22 starts.
PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are hitting .176 (9-for-51) with 11 strikeouts off his changeup and .204 (11-for-54) with 12 strikeouts off his slider.
- In his last 4 starts, opponents are batting .125 (1-for-8) off his changeup and slider.
FIRST PITCH SUCCESS: His first-pitch swing (23.2 to 33.3) and first-pitch strike (53.6 to 61.8) percentages are up from 2022.
BATTED BALL STATS: His groundball percentage is up to 37.7 from 25.5 while his fly ball percentage is down to 30.1 from 44.7.
THIRD TIME THROUGH: In his third time thru the lineup, is limiting batters to a .218 average (22-for-101) with 9 walks and 13 strikeouts.
INNING INFO: In innings 6-8, owns a 1.32 ERA (2 ER in 13.2 IP) with a .125 opponent average (6-for-48) and 11 strikeouts. 0-2, GOT YOU: Opponents are 6-for-46 (.130) with 17 strikeouts on an 0-2 count.
UNFAMILIAR FACES: The Twins will be the 15th opponent faced for the first time this season: Marlins, Royals, Rockies, Nationals, Giants, Athletics, Phillies, Braves, Tigers, Brewers, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays and Cardinals.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their six-game roadtrip with a record of 2-4 (0-3 in Kansas City and 2-1 in St. Louis), the Twins began their three-game homestand/weekend series with a win over the Diamondbacks…tonight, they will play the second of three against Arizona…after tomorrow afternoon’s series finale, the Twins will travel to Detroit to begin a seven-game roadtrip with four against the Tigers from August 7-10, then three against the Phillies from August 11-13…the Twins have gone 31-24 at home and 26-30 on the road.
TWINS EDGE D-BACKS WITH 3 SOLO JACKS: The Twins beat the Diamondbacks last night at Target Field by a score of 3-2…Bailey Ober was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on six hits in 5.0 innings pitched…Dylan Floro (1.0 IP), Caleb Thielbar (W, 1.1 IP), Emilio Pagán (0.2 IP) and Jhoan Duran (S, 1.0 IP) combined to pitch 4.0 scoreless innings of relief…the offense recorded seven hits, highlighted by solo homers from Jorge Polanco (3rd inning), Max Kepler (6th inning) and Michael A. Taylor (7th inning).
MINNESOTA IM-MAUER-TALITY: Prior to tonight’s game, the Twins will formally enshrine club legend Joe Mauer as the 38th member of the Twins Hall of Fame.
Mauer was selected first overall by the Twins in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall High School and made his major league debut on April 5, 2004.
He played all 15 of his major league seasons with the Twins, joining National Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Oliva as the only player in club history to do so.
His jersey number seven was formally retired by the Twins on June 15, 2019; he is one of only nine players or managers in club history to have his number retired and the only catcher to be so honored.
The 2009 AL MVP was named to the AL All-Star team six times, earned three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards at catcher, earned the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award five times and won three AL batting titles, the only catcher in AL history to have done so.
Mauer hit .306 (2123-for-6930) for his career with 428 doubles, 30 triples, 143 home runs, 923 RBI, 1018 runs scored, 939 walks and a .388 on-base percentage…primarily a catcher from 2004-13, he played 921 of his 1858 career games at the position, the most in Twins history among backstops.
Below are his offensive ranks in several offensive categories in Twins history (since 1961):
PLAYER HITS PLAYER 2B PLAYER RUNS PLAYER BB
1) Puckett…………2,304 1) Mauer ……….428 1) Puckett….. 1,071 1) Killebrew …… 1,321
2) Mauer………….2,123 2) Puckett………414 2) Killebrew… 1,047 2) Mauer …………. 939
3) Carew…………..2,085 3) Oliva………….329 3) Mauer …… 1,018 3) Hrbek…………… 838
4) Oliva ……………1,917 4) Hrbek…………312 4) Carew………. 950 4) Allison …………. 641
5) Hrbek…………..1,749 5) Carew………..305 5) Hrbek……….. 903 5) Carew………….. 613
PLAYER GAMES PLAYER RBI PLAYER BA (3000 PA) PLAYER OBP (3000 PA)
1) Killebrew……..1,939 1) Killebrew …1,325 1) Carew…….. .334 1) Carew………… .393
2) Mauer…………1,858 2) Hrbek………1,086 2) Puckett…… .318 2) Knoblauch ….. .391
3) Puckett ……….1,783 3) Puckett……1,085 3) Mauer ……. .306 3) Mauer ……….. .388
4) Hrbek………….1,747 4) Oliva………….947 4) Oliva………. .304 4) Killebrew ……. .383
5) Oliva …………..1,676 5) Mauer ……….923 5) Knoblauch… .304 5) Lawton ………. .379
OTHER NOTES ON MAUER THAT ARE ‘PRETTY NEAT’ AND ‘PRETTY COOL’:
Four current Twins either on the active roster or IL were teammates with Mauer: Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton.
During his playing career (2004-18): Mauer ranked seventh in baseball in hits, trailing Miguel Cabrera (2,592), Albert Pujols (2,491), Robinson Canó (2,470), Ichiro Suzuki (2,427), Adrián Beltre (2,417) and Nick Markakis (2,237)…he had the second-best average with two strikes (min. 3,000 ABs), hitting .249, trailing just Ichiro (.254)…finally, he had the third-best average with runners in scoring position, hitting .334, trailing Mookie Betts (.338) and Joey Votto (.336).
Five current MLB pitchers were batterymates with Mauer during his time as a catcher: Houston’s Ryan Pressly (23 games), Minnesota’s Caleb Thielbar (18 games), Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson (8 games), Chicago-AL’s Liam Hendriks (7 games) and Atlanta’s Michael Tonkin (1 game).
Mauer is the all-time Target Field hit leader with 637 career knocks here…he also leads this ballpark in games (579), doubles (123), RBI (271) and walks (292)…Mauer hit .297 at Target Field and .326 at the Metrodome.
Mauer’s most hits (26), home runs (4) and walks (15) off any opposing pitcher was Justin Verlander.
The top three Twins pitchers that Mauer caught in his career were Jesse Crain — 265 games, Joe Nathan — 264 games and Matt Guerrier — 263 games.
The Twins are 16-9 all-time the day of Twins HOF induction ceremonies.
SERIES CONVERSATIONS: The Twins are seeking their 17th series victory this season…they are 16-15-4 in series play in 2023, going 9-6-2 at home and 7-9-2 on the road.
The Twins are 5-3-0 all-time in series play against Arizona…they are seeking their first series win over the D-Backs since sweeping them in three games at Target Field from August 19-20, 2017.
Entering today, the Twins have gone 6-4-1 in their last 11 series, dating back to their June 23-25 series at Detroit.
RAISING ARIZONA: The Twins and D-Backs are playing each other for the 25th, 26th and 27th times in their history this weekend…the Twins have gone 15-10 all-time against Arizona, going 4-2 at the Metrodome (2003-08), 6-1 at Target Field (2014-23) and 5-7 at Chase Field (2004-22).
The Twins have won seven of their last nine games against the D-Backs, dating back to September of 2014.
The Twins have won six-straight home games vs. the D-Backs, with their last loss here coming on September 22, 2014…Twins are 9-1 in their last 10 in Minnesota, dating back to the Metrodome days of 2008.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE: The Twins have gone 13-14 in Interleague Play this season, going 1-2 at Miami, 1-2 vs. Washington, 2-1 vs. San Diego, 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL, 1-2 at Los Angeles-NL, 1-2 vs. San Francisco, 2-0 vs. Milwaukee, 0-3 at Atlanta, 2-1 at St. Louis and 1-0 vs. Arizona.
Jorge Polanco has reached safely in 14 of 15 Interleague games this season, hitting .298 (17-for-57) with four doubles, four home runs, six RBI, seven walks, and a .954 OPS…he has reached safely in 11 of his last 25 plate appearances in IL Play (7 hits, 4 walks).
Max Kepler hit his 18th career IL home run last night, seventh most in Twins history…Torii Hunter leads with 33.
STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA 18
2023: 2-6, 4.53 ERA CAREER: 61-47, 3.92 ERA
Making his 12th start and appearance of 2023, and his fifth home start…also his 181st career appearance and 147th start.
Facing the Diamondbacks for the 19th time in his career and first time since 2019…is 6-5, 4.14 ERA (78.1 IP, 36 ER) with 17 walks and 86 strikeouts in 18 career appearances (15 starts) vs. Arizona.
Is in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired in 2020, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.
LAST TIME OUT: Suffered the loss on July 30 at Kansas City in the Twins’ 2-1 defeat at Kauffman Stadium…pitched 5.0 innings and allowed two runs on four hits (1 HR), with two walks and seven strikeouts…retired the first five batters he faced before allowing a solo home run to Freddy Fermin in the second inning…allowed one run on two hits, including an RBI double by Maikel Garcia, in the bottom of the third…escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam by inducing an inning-ending flyout from Nicky Lopez to end the fourth inning…retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the fifth inning… was relieved by Dylan Floro to begin the sixth inning; Minnesota’s bullpen fired 3.0 scoreless innings, but the Twins’ offense scored just one run on seven hits to drop the series finale.
Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in each of his last seven starts, tied with two other pitchers for the fourth-longest active streak among American League starters…Maeda’s current streak is his second longest as a Twin (14-start streak allowing 3-or-fewer runs from July 26, 2020 to April 14, 2021).
TWO STARTS AGO: Took a no-decision vs. Seattle on July 24 at Target Field in a 4-3 Minnesota win… allowed one run on six hits (1 HR) in 6.1 innings pitched, with two walks and eight strikeouts… held the Mariners scoreless through his first 4.0 innings, allowing three singles and one double… yielded a solo homer to Tom Murphy in the top of the fifth inning; marked Murphy’s second homer off Maeda this season…issued two walks in the top of the seventh and was relieved by Jovani Moran, who stranded both inherited runners to preserve the Twins’ 2-1 lead…after Griffin Jax blew a save opportunity in the top of the ninth, the Twins rallied for one run in both the ninth and 10th innings to record a walk-off win in the series opener.
Recorded back-to-back quality starts for the first time since July 22, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL and July 27, 2021 vs. Detroit.
HEATING UP: Since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain) on June 23, Maeda is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA (37.2 IP, 11 ER), 13 walks, 51 strikeouts and a .209 (28-for-134) opponent batting average in seven starts…here’s how his numbers rank among American League pitchers since June 23 (min. 7 GS):
STATISTIC LAST 7 STARTS AL RANK
ERA ………………………………………………………….. 2.63 …………………………………………………………….. 7th
Opponent Batting Average…………………………… .209 …………………………………………………………….. 6th
WHIP…………………………………………………………. 1.09 …………………………………………………………… 13th
Strikeouts……………………………………………………. 51 …………………………………………………………….T-5th
KING OF THE K: Maeda has struck out 10.90 batters-per-9.0 innings this season, the seventh-highest strikeouts-per-9.0 innings ratio in the American League (min. 11 GS)…has struck out 29 percent of the batters he has faced in 2023, the 10th-best strikeout rate in baseball among starters with at least 42.0 IP (Inside Edge)…69 percent of Maeda’s strikeouts have been located outside the strike zone, second highest in baseball (min. 42.0 IP).
SNAKE STATS: Facing the Diamondbacks for the 19th time in his career and first as a Twin…is 6-5, 4.14 ERA (78.1 IP, 36 ER) with 17 walks and 86 strikeouts in 18 appearances (15 starts)…last faced Arizona on August 10, 2019 with Los Angeles-NL, earning the win in the Dodgers’ 4-0 victory at Dodger Stadium; pitched 7.0 shutout innings and allowed only three hits, striking out six batters without issuing a walk.
Maeda is making his 16th career start against Arizona tonight, matching his total against San
Diego for his most starts against any opponent in his career.
Has recorded five career quality starts against the Diamondbacks, tied for the most against any opponent in his career (also 5 QS vs. Colorado, Detroit and Milwaukee).
NATIONAL NEWS: Facing a National League opponent for the third time this season…is 0-2, 2.70 ERA (10.0 IP, 3 ER) with two walks and 13 strikeouts in his two previous starts against the NL, taking losses on April 4 at Miami and June 28 at Atlanta…in 125 career appearances against NL opponents (95 starts), Maeda is 42-30, 3.72 ERA (547.1 IP, 226 ER) with five saves, eight holds, 156 walks and 603 strikeouts; his teams are 78-47 (.624 win %) in those appearances.
Facing a NL opponent at home for the first time since August 18, 2020 vs. Milwaukee when he tossed 8.0 innings and allowed one run on one hit, with two walks and 12 strikeouts; Twins won 4-3 in 12 innings.
In 26 career Interleague appearances (22 starts), Maeda is 7-9, 4.22 ERA (121.2 IP, 57 ER) with 40 walks and 134 strikeouts.
Is 23-17, 3.80 ERA (301.0 IP, 127 ER) with 85 walks and 350 strikeouts in 75 career appearances (52 starts) against National League West opponents.
