MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
ROAD TRIPPIN’: After completing their six-game homestand with a record of 4-2 (2-1 vs. San Diego and 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL), the Twins began their six-game, seven-day road-trip with a loss to the Dodgers last night…tonight, the Twins will play the second of three at Dodger Stadium…they will complete the series tomorrow afternoon, then travel to Anaheim to enjoy an off-day on Thursday before playing the Angels for three over the weekend…the Twins have gone 14-8 at Target Field and 9-11 on the road.
TWINS GIVE IT AWAY TO DODGERS IN 12: The Twins lost to the Dodgers in Los Angeles last night by a score of 9-8 in 12 innings, making them 4-3 in extras…Pablo López was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing five runs on five hits in 4.2 innings pitched, with no walks and four strikeouts…the bullpen used five relievers as Jorge López was dealt the loss, walking in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 12th on a 3-2 pitch…the offense recorded 13 hits, three from both Jorge Polanco and Christian Vázquez…Minnesota also went 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left a season-high 15 men on base.
STANDING IN LINE TO SEE THE SHOW TONIGHT: Last night’s attendance at Dodger Stadium was 49,749…it is one of the three biggest crowds the Twins have played in front of in the last two seasons, all at Dodger Stadium — 53,432 on August 10, 2022 at LAD and 47,874 on August 9, 2022 at LAD.
DARK NECESSITIES: The Twins have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher José De León from Triple-A St. Paul…De León, 30, pitched in nine games (4 starts) for the Saints this season, going 0-2, 3.62 ERA (27.1 IP, 11 ER), one save, 12 walks and 26 strikeouts… the Isabela, Puerto Rico native was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent last December and has pitched in parts of five major league seasons with the Dodgers, Rays and Reds, going 4-1, 8.44 ERA (48.0 IP, 45 ER), 35 walks and 67 strikeouts in 22 games (6 starts)…to make room for De León on the 26-man roster, the Twins have placed right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala on the 15-day Injured List with a right forearm extensor muscle strain… Alcala made 10 relief appearances for the Twins, going 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA (15.1 IP, 11 ER), eight walks and 12 strikeouts.
DANI CALIFORNIA: The Twins are playing the Dodgers in the regular season for the 21st time in their history tonight…the Twins are 6-14 all-time; they have lost 11-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…lower right are the Twins all-time longest losing streaks to single opponents.
STADIUM ARCADIUM: In the regular season, Minnesota is 1-8 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…they have not won here in 6,549 days, their longest drought in any ballpark in their history.
Including the Postseason, the Twins are 1-11 all-time at Dodger Stadium, going 0-3 in this ballpark during the 1965 World Series.
MY FRIENDS: Twins starters have thrown an MLB-best 238.1 innings pitched…they have averaged 5.7 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 022…they also rank first in baseball in WHIP (1.06) and strikeouts (270)…below are Twins starting pitching ranks in all of baseball:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB FIP WHIP K’s OPS
MIN – 238.1 TB – 3.03 TB – .217 SF – 51 SEA – 3.25 MIN – 1.06 MIN – 270 TB – .627
SD – 233.0 ATL – 3.16 MIN – .220 SEA – 51 TB – 3.35 SEA – 1.10 CWS – 240 SEA – .629
SEA – 231.2 MIN – 3.17 LAD – .234 LAD – 55 MIN – 3.36 TB – 1.11 HOU – 232 MIN – .636
TEX – 229.2 HOU – 3.41 SEA – .234 MIN – 57 ATL – 3.38 LAD – 1.13 ATL – 229 LAD – .672
TOR – 229.2 SF – 3.48 TEX – .235 CLE – 59 HOU – 3.78 TEX – 1.15 TOR – 227 ATL – .678
CAN’T STOP: After 13 hits last night, the Twins now have double-digit hit totals in each of their last three games, their longest stretch since four-straight from September 24-28, 2022…in those three, they have totaled 44 hits (13, 18, 13)…below are the Twins first 39 games from March 30-May 12 and their last three games since Saturday:
AVG R/G H 2B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS
FIRST 39 .218 4.2 281 58 47 157 131 367 .298 .381 .679
LAST 3 .346 11.7 44 12 10 34 15 32 .420 .677 1.097
RED HOT JORGE: Since coming off the Injured List (left knee inflammation) on April 21, Jorge Polanco has hit safely in 18 of 22 games…he has reached base safely eight times in 11 plate appearances in his last two games…additionally, on the season, he is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two doubles, one home run, five RBI and a 1.000 OPS vs. left-handed pitching.
U-NL-IMITED LOVE: The Twins have gone 6-7 in Interleague Play this season, going 1-2 at Miami, 1-2 vs. Washington, 2-1 vs. San Diego, 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL and 0-1 vs. Los Angeles-NL…they have gone 5-3 in their last eight vs. the NL after starting 1-4…after this series, the Twins’ next NL opponent will be the Giants for three games at Target Field from May 22-24.
THE ZEPH-HR SONG: After hitting two home runs last night, the Twins have now hit 10 homers in their last three games…they have homered 57 times on the season, the third most in the AL and sixth most in baseball…47 of their home runs have come in their last 30 games since April 13…since that date only the Braves (53), Rays (51) and Dodgers (47) have hit as many.
THE OTHERSIDE: The Twins are facing a left-handed starter for just the eighth time this season, the previous seven being Jesús Luzardo on April 5 at Miami (5-2 loss), Nestor Cortes on April 14 at New York-AL (4-3 win), Chris Sale on April 18 at Boston (5-4 loss), Patrick Corbin on April 23 vs. Washington (3-1 win), Cortes again on April 25 (6-2 win), Logan Allen on May 6 at Cleveland (4-3 loss) and Drew Smyly on May 12 vs. Chicago-NL (6-2 loss)…the Twins have the fourth-fewest at-bats in baseball vs. left-handed pitching at just 279.
Twins are slashing just .204/.277/.362 vs. lefties, compared to .235/.317/.419 vs. righties.
In his last 40 games against left-handed pitching (since August 9, 2022), Carlos Correa is hitting .320 (24-for-75) with six doubles, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBI, 13 walks, a .407 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage and a 1.073 OPS.
IT’S JUST A MINOR THING AND WE ARE MINOR KINGS: The Twins have two minor leaguers that have earned Player/Pitcher of the Week in their respective leagues for the week of May 8-14:
Double-A Wichita infielder Yunior Severino was named Texas League Player of the Week…Severino, 23, played in five games for the Wind Surge, hitting .500 (11-for-22) with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, four walks, a 1.136 slugging percentage and a 1.713 OPS.
Florida State League right-handed pitcher Cory Lewis was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week…Lewis, 22, made the start for the Mighty Mussels on Sunday vs. Tampa, pitching 5.2 perfect innings with seven strikeouts…he pitched the first leg of a no-hitter, as A.J. Labas, Gabriel Yanez and Ben Ethridge finished off the no-no.
ALL AROUND THE WORLD SUN: Hall of Famer Jack Morris is celebrating his 68th birthday today…during his 18-year major league career, he pitched one game on his birthday, that coming in 1987, pitching a complete game over Cleveland at Tiger Stadium, allowing three runs on five hits with 11 strikeouts…he shares a birthday with Twins Radio Engineer Kyle Hammer (38), University of Minnesota baseball coach John Anderson (68), actress Megan Fox (37), pop singer Janet Jackson (57), actor Pierce Brosnan (70) and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic (58).
BY THE WAY: On this day in 2010, Jason Kubel hit an eighth-inning grand slam off Mariano Rivera for a 6-3 win at new Yankee Stadium… Rivera had converted a record-tying 51-consecutive save opportunities at home and had not given up a grand slam since 2002; the runs were also the first he allowed that season.
STARTING PITCHER – BAILEY OBER 17
2023: 2-0, 1.85 ERA CAREER: 7-6, 3.54 ERA
Making his fifth start of the season and second road start…also his 36th career start and appearance.
Facing the Dodgers for the first time in his career…is 1-2, 4.15 ERA (60.2 IP, 28 ER) with 14 walks and 60 strikeouts when facing an opponent for the first time.
Is 1-0, 4.05 ERA (20.0 IP, 9 ER) with six walks and 18 strikeouts in four career Interleague starts.
Selected by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston.
LAST START: Did not factor into the decision in a 5-3 Twins victory against the San Diego Padres on May 11 at Target Field, despite recording his second quality start of the season…pitched 6.0 innings, allowed a season-high three runs on six hits, with no walks and six strikeouts opposite Yu Darvish…marked the first time Ober recorded back-to-back quality starts in his career…allowed his second leadoff home run of his career to outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on the first pitch of the game, yielded an RBI double to outfielder Juan Soto in the fourth inning and permitted a solo home run to infielder Rougned Odor in the fifth inning…relieved by Emilio Pagán in the seventh inning as the bullpen combined to pitch 3.0 scoreless innings…the Twins came from behind in the seventh inning to secure the win with an RBI groundout by Max Kepler off Brent Honeywell and a two-RBI double by Carlos Correa off Steven Wilson.
Has fanned six batters in three-straight starts, the longest streak of his career.
Brought his career strikeout total to 169…owns the sixth-most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first 35 games in Twins history (1961-present), behind Joe Ryan (207), Francisco Liriano (181), Bert Blyleven (180), Boof Bonser (175) and José Berríos (171).
TWO STARTS AGO: Earned his second win of the season in a 2-0 Twins victory against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on May 5, opposite Peyton Battenfield…pitched 7.0 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one batter and struck out six…marked Ober’s second longest outing of his career and his longest outing since September 27, 2022 vs. Chicago-AL when he tossed 7.1 innings… received two runs of support via a two-run homer by Max Kepler in the top of the sixth inning…relieved by Jorge López in the eighth inning as he combined with Jhoan Duran to pitch two scoreless innings… Duran earned his seventh save of the season.
Allowed one-or-fewer runs in three-straight starts…was the second-longest streak in the Twins rotation this season of starts with one run or less, trailing Sonny Gray’s six-game streak from April 1 to April 30.
OBER VS. LOS ANGELES-NL: Facing the Dodgers for the first time in his career…making his fifth career Interleague start, third this season…is 1-0, 3.09 ERA (11.2 IP, 4 ER) with three walks and 10 strikeouts in two Interleague starts this season (1-0, 4.05 ERA (20.0 IP, 9 ER) with six walks and 18 strikeouts in four career Interleague starts)…Los Angeles-NL will be the 14th team he has faced since his major league debut on May 18, 2021…in 13 career starts when facing an opponent for the first time, Ober is 1-2, 4.15 ERA (60.2 IP, 28 ER) with 14 walks and 60 strikeouts…Los Angeles-NL designated hitter J.D. Martinez is the only active Dodgers hitter to previously face Uber…Martinezis 0-for-4 with two strikeouts across two games against Ober as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
BACK TO THE ROAD: Ober is making his second road start of the season, 18th of his career…last season, he went 0-3, 3.09 ERA (32.0 IP, 11 ER) with five walks and 23 strikeouts in six starts on the road…is 2-5, 3.46 ERA (83.1 IP, 32 ER) with 14 walks and 76 strikeouts in 17 career road starts… Twins have gone 9-8 in his road starts.
Ranks 12th for the most strikeouts in their first 17 road games with the Twins, ninth in lowest ERA and sixth in lowest earned runs allowed (min. 80.0 IP).
THE RIGHT WAY: Right-handed hitters are batting .150 (6-for-40) with 13 strikeouts and one RBI against Ober after four starts this season…left-handed hitters are hitting .217 (10-for-46) with nine strikeouts and four RBI…in his career, right-handed hitters are batting .215/.236/.408 with 13 doubles and 102 strikeouts against Ober…lefties are hitting .268/.330/.441 with 19 doubles and 67 strikeouts off him.
Tied for 14th in the AL in lowest opponent batting average against righties (min. 10.0 IP)… his .171 opponent OBP against righties ranks fourth lowest in all of baseball.
ARSENAL: Ober used a four-pitch mix in his four starts of the 2023 season, per Baseball Savant… four of Ober’s six strikeouts in his last start on May 11 came from his fastball, his most used pitch… also threw 43 fastballs in his last start…mostly uses his slider against righties while relying on his changeup and curveball against lefties…here’s a look at his repertoire:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (#, vs. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (91.6)….47.5% (173 pitches, 70/103) …………….. .158 (6-for-38), 3 2B, 1 HR, 9 K
Slider (81.9)…………………..22.3% (81 pitches, 68/13) ………………………. .136 (3-for-22), 1 HR, 9 K
Changeup (84.2)…………….20.1% (73 pitches, 14/59) ………………………. .333 (6-for-18), 2 2B, 2 K
Curveball (78.3)………………10.2% (37 pitches, 4/33) …………………………. .125 (1-for-8), 1 2B, 2 K
AOber ranks 12th for the lowest opponent batting average against a slider in the American
League, 12th against a curveball and 13th against a fastball (min. 300 pitches).
ACROSS THE RIVER: In his four starts with Triple-A Saint Paul this season, Ober went 2-1, 2.55 ERA (17.2 IP, 5 ER) with six walks and 22 strikeouts…in his last start with the Saints on April 18, earned the win in 6-0 Saint Paul victory versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre…pitched 5.0 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked one batter and fanned six.
NIGHT SHIFT: Ober is making his second night start of the season tonight…went 1-2, 3.47 ERA (36.1 IP, 14 ER) with five walks and 37 strikeouts in seven night starts last season…is 4-4, 3.36 ERA (99.0 IP, 37 ER) with 17 walks and 105 strikeouts in 20 career night starts…ranks second for the most strikeouts through their first 20 night games with the Twins (min. 95.0 IP), trailing only Joe Ryan (125).
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
LONG, STRANGE TRIP: The Dodgers won their season-high tying sixth consecutive game last night (also April 28- May 3), outlasting the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings, 9-8. The game marked the longest in both innings and time (3:48) for the Dodgers this season in their first Interleague game of 2023. Phil Bickford was the surprise hero, firing a career high 3.0 innings and earning the win after yielding just one unearned run in the extra frames. Bickford also struck out four, which is the most by a Dodger reliever this season. Los Angeles has 14 wins in its last 16 games and tonight will attempt to win its sixth consecutive series with a victory over the Twins in the middle contest of their three-game set. Following tomorrow’s 12:10 p.m. matinee to close out the homestand (4-0), 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 at Busch Stadium. Max Muncy ripped two home runs last night, the 13th time in his career that he’s belted two home runs in a game. Muncy has already had four multi-homer games this season and leads the Major Leagues with 14 longballs. Last year, Mookie Betts led the club with four multi-homer games and the Los Angeles Dodger record for multi-homer games is held by Adrián Beltré, who clubbed two or more homers in seven different games in 2004. Muncy’s four multi-homer games leads the big leagues. The Dodgers have the best home record in the National League (16-6, .727) and have won 10 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 second best run differential in the National League (+57), trailing just the Atlanta Braves (+64). Dodger catcher Will Smith went 2-for-6 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored last night He’s hitting .400 (10-for-25) with three homers, two doubles,seven RBI and three walks during his six-game hitting streak. The Dodgers are 19-6 (.760) when Smith is in the starting lineup this year.
KING KERSH: Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw takes the mound this evening looking for his seventh victory of the season, which would tie him with Shane McClanahan for the Major League lead. Kershaw was magnificent last Wednesday in Milwaukee, giving up just one run on five hits over 7.0 innings. With 203 career victories, he is seven shy of passing Don Drysdale for the second most in Dodger franchise history. Don Sutton heads the list with 233 wins as a Dodger. Kershaw sits alone at 21st on the all-time strikeout list and is chasing former teammate and still current big leaguer Zack Greinke for 20th place:
All-Time Major League Strikeout Leaders
- Zack Greinke 2,914
- Clayton Kershaw 2,863
PEN MEN: The Dodger bullpen had a rough Monday night, giving up six runs (five earned) over 8.0 innings, snapping their streak of four consecutive games without allowing a run. Since allowing a season high-matching eight runs on April 26 at PIT (also, April 21 at CHC), the Dodger ‘pen has posted a 2.60 ERA (18 ER/62.1 IP) with 72 strikeouts against 28 walks. The bullpen is among the leaders in multiple categories since April 27, including ERA (3rd), batting average against (.182, 1st), opponents slugging percentage (.276, 2nd) opponents OBP (.276, 2nd) and opponents OPS (.551, 1st). Caleb Ferguson currently has a Dodger season high 11.2-inning scoreless streak and since being recalled on April 22, Victor González has fired 9.1 scoreless innings.
FABULOUS FREDDIE: Freddie Freeman has scored a run in a Dodger season-high eight consecutive games, overtaking Will Smith’s run from April 2-10. Freeman is tied with Marcus Semien for second in the Major Leagues with 35 runs scored, trailing only Ronald Acuña Jr. (37). 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!: This series marks the first Interleague tilt of the season for the Dodgers in the new balanced schedule format, which will see the club play 46 games vs. the AL. 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 240-215 record (.527 winning percentage), which is the best mark amongst National League teams. Los Angeles is 14-6 all-time vs. Minnesota in Interleague play and is currently on an 11-game winning streak against Twins, dating back to April 30, 2014.
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers hit three more home runs last night and have homered in a season-high tying nine straight games (also March 30-April 8). The club has 71 on the season, which is second in the Majors, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (81). The Dodgers have recorded 3+ homers in 13 games this season, which is tied with the Rays for the most in the Majors. Los Angeles is also second in the Majors with 34 games with at least one homer, behind the Rays (37), who have homered in all but five games this season.
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. TWINS: LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (6-2, 2.36 ERA in 8 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- Over eight starts, the Texas native owns a 6-2 record with a 2.36 ERA (13 ER/49.2 IP) with 56 strikeouts against 10 walks and has generated a 0.95 WHIP
- Notched his 200th career win in his start on April 18 against the Mets, making him the only Los Angeles Dodger to win 200 games with the same franchise…joins Don Sutton (233) and Don Drysdale (209) on the Dodger all-time list…
- Moved into 21st all-time on the Major League strikeout list with 2,863, tying…he needs 137 more to become the 20th player in Major League history with 3,000 strikeouts
- Has fired 6.0+ innings in seven out of his eight starts this season
- He was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for April after posting a 5-1 record with a 1.89 ERA (8 ER/38.0 IP) and 41 strikeouts and a 0.76 WHIP
VS. TWINS:
- Will meet the Twins for the second time in his career and first time at Dodger Stadium
- Faced the club for the first time April 13, 2022…spun seven perfect innings where he struck out 13 of the 21 batters he opposed
