MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: The Twins completed their six-game homestand with a record of 4-2, going 2-1 vs. San Diego last week, then 2-1 against Chicago-NL over the weekend…tonight, the Twins will begin a six-game, seven-day road-trip with three against the Dodgers through Wednesday, followed by an off-day Thursday, then play three against the Angels in Anaheim from Friday-Sunday…the Twins have gone 14-8 at Target Field and 9-10 on the road.
TWINS CLEAN IT UP FOR ALL THE MOMS: The Twins celebrated Mother’s Day by beating the Cubs yesterday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 16-3, their largest margin of victory this season…Louie Varland (1-0) was the starter and winner, allowing three runs on four hits in 6.1 innings pitched…the offense recorded season highs in runs and hits (18)…each player in the starting lineup had a hit as seven Twins had multiple hits…additionally, seven different Twins had at least two RBI as Trevor Larnach drove in four…Larnach (4), Joey Gallo (9) and Michael A. Taylor (5) each homered.
The Twins won back-to-back games by at least 10 runs for the fourth time in Twins/Senators history (since 1901), previously doing so from July 9 (2)-July 10, 1932; September 14-15, 1962; and April 24-25, 1996.
The Twins set a Target Field record with 29 runs scored over a three-game series.
Over the three-game series with the Cubs, Target Field drew 95,726 for an average of 31,908.
DODGE BALL: The Twins are playing the Dodgers in the regular season for the 20th time in their history tonight…the Twins are 6-13 all-time; they have lost 10-straight to the Dodgers, dating back to April 30, 2014…their current losing streak is the longest active streak for the Twins against one team and longest against any team…lower right are the Twins all-time longest losing streaks to single opponents.
Carlos Correa has hit .305 (25-for-82) with an .881 OPS in 21 career regular and Postseason games against the Dodgers…in 14 career regular season games, he has hit .321 (17-for53) with three doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and a .916 OPS.
Joey Gallo was acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline last season from New YorkAL, in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter…Gallo played 44 games for the Dodgers, hitting .162 (19-for-117) with seven home runs and 23 RBI…in that span, he posted an .868 OPS in 25 games at Dodger Stadium…Gallo has reached base safely in each of his last seven games vs. the Dodgers, dating back to August of 2018, posting a .556 on-base percentage in that span, drawing at least one walk in all seven.
Kyle Farmer was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of the University of Georgia…he made his MLB debut with LA on July 30, 2017 vs. SF at Dodger Stadium, hitting a pinch-hit, walk-off two-run double in his first plate appearance…he played 59 games for the Dodgers from 2017-18, hitting .250 (22-for-88) with a .309 on-base percentage…he was traded by the Dodgers with Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and cash to the Reds for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray in December of 2018.
LITERALLY ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: In the regular season, Minnesota is 1-7 all-time at Dodger Stadium, 2-6 at Target Field and 3-0 at Metrodome…the Twins only win at Dodger Stadium came on June 11, 2005, a 5-3 victory as Carlos Silva beat Derek Lowe…Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter both homered for the Twins in that game as Morneau had four RBI… they have not won here in 6,548 days, their longest drought in any ballpark in their history.
Including the Postseason, the Twins are 1-10 all-time at Dodger Stadium, going 0-3 in this ballpark during the 1965 World Series.
NATIONAL NEWS: The Twins have gone 6-6 in Interleague Play this season, going 1-2 at Miami, 1-2 vs. Washington, 2-1 vs. San Diego and 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL…they have gone 5-2 in their last seven vs. the NL after starting 1-4.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATORS: The Twins recorded 31 hits in their final two games against the Cubs on Saturday and Sunday…they had 34 hits in their previous six games combined, from May 6-12…in their last two games, they hit .397 (31-for-78) with 10 doubles, eight home runs, 27 RBI, 27 runs scored, a .460 on-base percentage, an .833 slugging percentage and a 1.293 OPS…despite having the third lowest team batting average in baseball (.228), the Twins still rank 12th in baseball in runs scored (191).
CLEARING THE WALL-EYE: After hitting eight home runs in their last two games, the Twins have homered 55 times on the season, the third most in the AL and sixth most in baseball…45 of their home runs have come in their last 29 games since April 13…since that date only the Rays (51) and Braves (48) have hit more…Dodgers are fourth with 44.
Tonight’s starter, Pablo López, is the man behind The Land of 10,000 Rakes home run celebration “Minnesota” fishing vest…López went to a sporting goods store after a day game on April 29, buying the vest along with a Paw Patrol kids fishing pole…the next day the Twins won over the Royals 8-4 as Byron Buxton hit a 453-foot homer, becoming the first to wear the new celebration attire.
KIRILLOFF THE HOOK: Since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on May 5, Alex Kirilloff has hit .409 (9-for-22) with six walks, a .536 on-base percentage and an 1.308 OPS in eight games…in his last 18 games between Triple-A (April 18-May 4) and Minnesota (May 6-14), he has combined to hit .350 (21-for-60) with four doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, 12 walks, a .473 on-base percentage and a 1.140 OPS.
C4 IGNITING: Carlos Correa has hit safely in a season-long five-straight games, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with four doubles, one home run, eight RBI, two walks, a .391 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage and a 1.058 OPS in that span.
Correa has recorded an extra-base hit in five-straight games, doubling in three-straight from Wednesday-Friday, homering on Saturday, then doubling again yesterday afternoon… it is tied for the second-longest extra-base hit streak of his career, his career long being six, from April 19-24, 2019 with Houston.
JOEY LONGBALLS: Joey Gallo hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season yesterday…he has averaged 409 feet on his home runs this season, tied for sixth best in the AL…additionally, he has an average exit velocity of 94.8 mph, ranking fifth in baseball, trailing Yandy
Díaz (95.8), Aaron Judge (95.4), Matt Chapman (95.1) and Matt Olson (95.0).
PLOUFFE! THERE HE IS!: Former Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe is making his Bally Sports North TV debut this week with the team in southern California…the West Hills, California native was selected by the Twins 20th overall in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, CA…he played seven seasons with the Twins from 2010-16, hitting .247 (651-for-2638) with 148 doubles, 10 triples, 96 home runs, 357 RBI, 218 walks, 332 runs scored and a .727 OPS in 723 games for Minnesota…he played 545 games at third base for the Twins, the fourth most in club history, trailing Gary Gaetti (1311), Rich Rollins (771) and Corey Koskie (762)…he still ranks near the top of several offensive categories in Target Field’s history (since 2010), placing fourth in doubles (87), fifth in home runs (55), sixth in RBI (188) and walks (109), and seventh in runs scored (174).
FYI: Right-handed pitcher Derek Rodríguez was claimed off waivers by Atlanta earlier today
STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ 49
2023: 2-2, 3.47 ERA CAREER: 30-33, 3.89 ERA
Making his ninth start and appearance of 2023 in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018- 22)…also his 103rd career appearance (all starts).
Facing Los Angeles-NL for the fourth time in his career; is 1-0, 3.00 ERA (15.0 IP, 5 ER) with five walks and 17 strikeouts in three previous starts vs. Dodgers.
Acquired by the Twins from Miami on January 20, 2023, along with infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio, in exchange for infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez
REELIN’ IN THE STRIKEOUTS: After fanning eight batters in his last start on May 10 vs. San Diego, López has recorded 62 strikeouts in his first eight starts with Minnesota, the most through a pitcher’s first eight games with the Twins in club history (since 1961):
PITCHER STRIKEOUTS YEAR
Pablo López……………………………………………… 62 ………………………………………………………… 2023
Kenta Maeda…………………………………………….. 56 ……………………………………………………….. 2020
Dean Chance…………………………………………….. 53 ……………………………………………………….. 1967
Bert Blyleven…………………………………………….. 48 ……………………………………………………….. 1970
Joe Ryan…………………………………………………… 46 …………………………………………………… 2021-22
LAST TIME OUT: Took a no-decision in the Twins 4-3 victory in 11 innings vs. the San Diego Padres at Target Field on May 10…pitched opposite of right-hander Seth Lugo, who also did not factor into the decision…López went 6.1 innings, allowing one earned run and two hits, issuing a season-high four walks and striking out eight batters…issued one walk in each of his first three innings but held the Padres scoreless through his first 6.0 innings of work…allowed his first hit in the top of the fifth inning when shortstop Xander Bogaerts reached on an infield single…benefitted from two double plays, a 7-3 DP in the first inning and a 3-unassisted DP in the fourth…yielded a solo home run to leftfielder Juan Soto to lead off the seventh inning…was relieved by Brock Stewart with one out in the seventh and Minnesota leading 2-1 after López struck out Bogaerts to end his outing…San Diego evened the score at 2-2 in the eighth inning via third baseman Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly off Jorge López…each team scored once in the 10th inning, and the Twins won in the 11th on a walk-off RBI single by leftfielder Alex Kirilloff.
Has recorded six-or-more strikeouts in each of his last nine starts, since October 4, 2022, the longest streak of his career…his eight-start streak to begin 2023 is tied with Atlanta’s Spencer Strider for the longest streak in baseball.
Through eight starts, López is among the American League leaders in several statistical categories, including strikeouts (62 – T-3rd), innings pitched (49.1 – 11th), FIP (3.28 – 12th), WAR (1.3 – 12th) and WHIP (1.07 – 14th).
TWO STARTS AGO: Did not factor into the decision in the Twins 7-3, 12-inning win at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 4 against the Chicago White Sox…pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with one walk and eight strikeouts…allowed a two-run home run to designated hitter Eloy Jiménez in the bottom of the third inning…stranded two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning by inducing an inning-ending groundout from infielder Elvis Andrus…retired the side in order in the seventh inning and was relieved by Jorge López in the bottom of the eighth after the Twins tied the score 2-2 on a Byron Buxton solo home run in the top of the eighth…Minnesota scored five runs in the 12th inning and five Twins relievers limited the White Sox to one unearned run over 5.0 innings pitched to close out the victory.
Marked his third start of 7.0-or-more innings and eight-or-more strikeouts this season, tied for first in baseball this year with Toronto’s Kevin Gausman, Houston’s Framber Valdez, Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez and Los Angeles-NL’s Clayton Kershaw…López has recorded nine such starts in his career.
LÓPEZ VS. LOS ANGELES-NL: Facing the Dodgers for the fourth time in his career and the first time with Minnesota…is 1-0, 3.00 ERA (15.0 IP, 5 ER) with five walks and 17 strikeouts in three previous starts vs. Los Angeles-NL, all with Miami…last faced the Dodgers on August 29, 2022 at loanDepot Park, taking a no-decision in a 3-2 Marlins loss; recorded a quality start, going 6.0 innings and allowing two runs on five hits, with three walks and six strikeouts…pitching at Dodger Stadium for the second time in his career; earned the win on May 16, 2021 in a 3-2 Marlins victory, pitching 5.0 innings with two runs and seven hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts.
STARTING THE ROADTRIP: Tonight is López’s fifth road start of the year…Minnesota has gone 2-2 in his four road starts this year, with López going 1-1, 1.78 ERA (25.1 IP, 5 ER) with six walks and 31 strikeouts…in his four home starts this season, López has gone 1-1, 5.25 ERA (24.0 IP, 14 ER) with eight walks and 31 strikeouts, with the Twins winning three of those four starts…over his career, López is 15-17, 4.26 ERA (251.1 IP, 119 ER) with 69 walks and 252 strikeouts in 48 road starts…in 54 home starts, he is 15-16, 3.59 ERA (308.0 IP, 123 ER) with 87 walks and 299 strikeouts.
Looking for his first road win since earning the Opening Day victory at Kansas City on March 30 (5.1 IP, 0 R/ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K).
LEFT/RIGHT: López has limited left-handed hitters to a .214 (15-for-70) batting average this season… right-handed hitters are batting at a .222 (24-for-108) clip…his 40 strikeouts against righties are sixth most in the American League…overall, opposing hitters are batting .219 (39-for-178) vs. López this year, the 14th-lowest opponent batting average among qualified American League pitchers… his .220 (135-for-615) opponent batting average against right-handed hitters since the start of 2021 is 15th best in baseball (min. 600 at-bats)…over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.663 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.739 OPS).
PITCH BREAKDOWN: Used a five-pitch mix in his first eight starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…has exclusively used his sinker against right-handed hitters, favoring his changeup and curveball when facing left-handed hitters…threw 10 sweepers to left-handed hitters in his last start on May 10 vs. San Diego after not throwing any sweepers to lefties in his first seven starts…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (95.0)……………..35.4% (265 pitches, 132/133)….. .231 (12-for-52), 3 2B, 3 HR, 19 K
Changeup (88.3)……………………….21.7% (162 pitches, 66/96) ……………. .087 (4-for-46), 1 2B, 21 K
Sweeper (83.7)…………………………21.3% (159 pitches, 149/10) .. .200 (7-for-35), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 13 K
Sinker (94.3) ………………………………13.0% (97 pitches, 97/0) ……………. .308 (8-for-26), 2 2B, 2 K
Curveball (81.3)…………………………..8.7% (65 pitches, 6/59) …….. .421 (8-for-19), 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 K
Lopez’s changeup has accumulated a run value of -8 this season, the best run value for a changeup in baseball, according to Baseball Savant (min. 25 plate appearances).
In his first eight starts, López has an average fastball velocity of 94.8 mph, a 2.1 mph increase from last season and the largest year-to-year jump of his career.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
SWEEPING IN: The Dodgers won their fifth consecutive game and claimed their fourth sweep of the year yesterday, blanking the Padres, 4-0, on Mother’s Day. Birthday boy Tony Gonsolin worked 5.0 scoreless innings and the bullpen was just as good, tossing 4.0 frames and preserving the club’s third shutout of 2023. Los Angeles has 13 wins in its last 15 games and tonight will welcome the first-place Minnesota Twins to town for the first Interleague game of the season. Following the Wednesday matinee to close out the Twins’ series, the Dodgers fly overnight to St. Louis and begin an 11-day, 10-game road trip against the Cardinals (4), Braves (3) and Rays (3) on Thursday night. Mookie Betts blasted a two-run homer, his ninth of the season. He now has 20 extra-base hits on the campaign, which is tied for second in the NL with three others, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt (22). The Dodgers have the best home record in the National League (15-6, .714) and have won nine consecutive contests at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles won 11 straight games at home from July 4-24 last season. Los Angeles enters play today with a season-high tying 3.0-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West. The Dodgers have the best run differential in the National League (+56) and rank third in baseball, trailing the Rays (+120) and Rangers (+97). Smith is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two homers, two doubles, five RBI and three walks during his five-game hitting streak. The Dodgers are 18-6 (.750) when Smith is in the starting lineup this year.
PEN MEN: The Dodger bullpen did it again yesterday, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out four. Dodger relievers haven’t allowed a run in four consecutive games going back to Wednesday in Milwaukee, a span of 10.1 innings. Caleb Ferguson currently has a Dodger season high 11.1-inning scoreless streak and Evan Phillips is right behind him with 11.0 consecutive scoreless frames. Since being recalled on April 22, Victor González has fired 9.1 scoreless innings. Since allowing a season high-matching eight runs on April 26 at PIT (also, April 21 at CHC), the Dodger ‘pen has posted an NL best 2.15 ERA (13 ER/54.1 IP) with 62 strikeouts against 21 walks. The bullpen is among the leaders in multiple categories since April 27, including ERA (2nd), WHIP (0.98, 1st), batting average against (.167, 1st), opponents slugging percentage (.250, 1st) opponents OBP (.252, 1st) and opponents OPS (.502, 1st).
MLB TEAM ERA LEADERS – RELIEVERS (Since April 27)
Seattle Mariners 1.80
Los Angeles Dodgers 2.15
FABULOUS FREDDIE: Freddie Freeman has scored a run in a Dodger season-high tying seven consecutive games, matching Will Smith’s run from April 2-10. Freeman ranks third in the Major Leagues with 34 runs scored, trailing Ronald Acuña Jr. (36) and Marcus Semien (35). With 299 career homers, he’s on the doorstep of 300 and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, would become just the fifth player in franchise history to accomplish that feat in a Dodger uniform:
PLAYERS TO HIT HOME RUN NO. 300 IN A DODGER UNIFORM
DATE LOCATION PITCHER/TEAM
Duke Snider JULY 7, 1957 Ebbets Field Dick Drott, Cubs
Gil Hodges April 23, 1958 L. A. Coliseum Dick Drott, Cubs
Gary Sheffield July 21, 2001 Coors Field Denny Neagle, Rockies
Adrian Gonzalez Aug. 8, 2016 Dodger Stadium Junichi Tazawa, Red Sox
WE’RE GOING INTERLEAGUEING!: Tonight marks the first of 46 Interleague games for the Dodgers in the new balanced schedule format. Last season, the Boys in Blue went 15-5 (.750) vs. the American League, which was tied for the best mark in baseball with Milwaukee. Since the beginning of Interleague play in 1997, the Dodgers hold a 239-215 record (.526 winning percentage), which is the best mark amongst National League teams. Los Angeles is 12-6 all-time vs. Minnesota in Interleague play, including a 3-0 mark vs. the Twins this year. Los Angeles is 13-6 vs. the Twins all-time and were 4-0 against Minnesota last year, sweeping a pair of two-game series at Target Field and Dodger Stadium.
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers hit another homer yesterday and have hit home runs in eight consecutive games, one shy of their season high (March 30-April 8). The club has 68 on the season, which is second in the Majors, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (81). The Dodgers have recorded 3+ homers in 12 games this season, which is second in the Majors, one behind the Rays (13). Los Angeles is also second in the Majors with 33 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (37), who have homered in all but five games this season.
The ROOK: Dodger outfielder James Outman went 0-for-3 yesterday, but leads all rookies in runs scored (26, tied), triples (3), extra-base hits (19), OPS (.909), slugging percentage (.548) and total bases (74). Outman ranks third with 23 RBI, second with a .361 on-base percentage and fourth in batting average (.267).
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs TWINS: RHP NOAH SYNDERGAARD (1-3, 6.12 ERA in 7 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- Earned his first win as a Dodger in his last start April 30, firing 5.1 innings, giving up eight hits and three runs…he is 1-3 on the season with a 6.32 ERA with 21 strikeouts
- Has tossed 6.0 innings in three of his six starts…struck out a season-high nine batters on April 14 vs. the Cubs
- Pitched in five games (four starts) during spring ball, going 1-3 with a 5.79 ERA (12 ER/18.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts against just two walks…held a 1.13 WHIP
VS. TWINS:
- Has not faced the Twins since April 10, 2019…fired seven innings and gave up five hits, four runs, no walks and punched out seven
- In his career against the Twins, he owns an overall 1-0 record in one game with a 5.14 ERA (4 ER/7.0 IP) and a 0.71 WHIP along with seven strikeouts and no walks
