MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Have gone 2-4 through six games on their nine-game, 10-day road-trip, going 2-1 in Detroit last weekend, followed by a three-game sweep at the hands of Atlanta this week…tonight, Minnesota will continue the trip with the first of three at Baltimore through the weekend…after this series, the Twins will travel back home to finish the pre-ASG portion of their schedule with a six-game, seven-day homestand, which consists of three games against the Royals (July 3-5) and three games against the Orioles (July 7-9)…the Twins have gone 23-19 at home and 17-23 on the road.
The Twins are looking to avoid falling to a low-water mark of three games under .500 tonight, which would be their lowest since finishing the 2022 season 78-84.
Twins have gone 17-24 in their last 41 after starting the season 23-18 in their first 41.
BATS FINISH COLD IN HOTLANTA: The Twins were shut out by the Braves at Truist Park on Wednesday afternoon, losing by a score of 3-0…it marked the club’s second time being swept this season (also June 6-8 at TB)…it was the sixth time the Twins have been shut out this season, five of which now have come on the road…Kenta Maeda (1-5) was the starter and loser, allowing two runs on five hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with two walks and four strikeouts…the offense recorded just four hits, two from Willi Castro…Minnesota also struck out 14 times and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, making them 0-for-23 with RISP over the three-game series.
TWINS AND O’s: The Twins and Orioles are playing each other for the first of six times in 2023… the Orioles will travel to Target Field for three games next weekend…the Twins went 4-3 against Baltimore last season, winning the season series for the fifth-consecutive season since 2017 (excludes 2020 pandemic season)…last season, the Twins went 2-2 at Camden Yards from May 2-5 and 2-1 at Target Field from July 1-3…Twins vs. Baltimore since 2017 in box to the bottom right.
Since 2019, the Twins have hit 38 home runs against Baltimore for an average of 2.0 home runs-per-game (19 games)…2.0 HR/G leads all AL teams vs. the Orioles in that span.
The Twins are 36-17 vs. Baltimore since the start of 2014…that marks the most wins against Baltimore among non-American League East teams in that span.
BIRD DOGS: Individual notable numbers vs. the Orioles:
Max Kepler is hitting .344 (31-for-90) with seven doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 22 RBI, 12 walks, a .417 OBP and a 1.162 OPS in 25 career games against Baltimore…he is hitting .333 (11-for-33) with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI, five walks, a .421 on-base percentage and a 1.057 OPS in nine career games at Camden Yards.
Byron Buxton has hit safely in seven-straight games at Baltimore, hitting .333 (10-for-30) with five doubles, one home run, eight RBI and a .955 OPS in that span.
Carlos Correa is hitting .333 (12-for-36) with four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.046 OPS in his last eight games at Baltimore.
Michael A. Taylor is hitting .306 (33-for-108) with four doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI, 10 walks, a .367 on-base percentage and a .793 OPS in 34 career games against Baltimore.
Christian Vázquez is hitting .293 (39-for-133) with nine doubles in 39 career games at Camden Yards…the 39 hits are his most in any opposing ballpark.
CRUEL SUMMER: With tonight being the final game of June, below are the offense and pitching comparisons for the first three months:
AVG R H 2B 3B HR BB K OBP SLG OPS
MAR/APR .237 134 228 44 6 38 89 275 .310 .413 .723
MAY .230 122 215 43 1 36 115 299 .324 .394 .718
JUNE .224 87 192 46 1 30 68 264 .289 .385 .674
W L S IP H ER HR BB K ERA BAA
MAR/APR 17 12 9 258.2 216 100 27 76 285 3.48 .223
MAY 12 15 3 245.1 207 94 28 94 267 3.45 .227
JUNE 11 15 5 229.0 212 107 30 62 224 4.21 .244
NOTE: The Twins went 10-12 in July of 2022 as pitchers posted a 5.30 ERA…hitters posted a .740 OPS last July and hit 34 home runs, while scoring 102 runs.
LEADING MAN: Carlos Correa is leading off tonight for the fourth time in his career…his previous three starts from the leadoff spot came in a three-game stretch for Houston from April 22-24, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL…in those three games, he went 5-for-15 (.333) with four doubles, one home run, four RBI and five runs scored…Correa becomes the 11th different player to lead off for the Twins…prior to tonight, the Twins have used 10 players at the top spot in the order: Julien (18), Kepler (17), Solano (14), Buxton (13), Gallo (10), Polanco (6), Larnach (1), Gordon (1), Castro (1) and Kirilloff (1)…10 players lead baseball, next being Pittsburgh with eight…10 is also tied with their 1979 total for fourth most in Twins history (since 1961), trailing 1980 (14), 1977 (12) and 1976 (11).
RISP MANAGEMENT: The Twins have hit .104 (5-for-48) with runners in scoring position through six games on their current roadtrip…other than the 5-for-13 effort on Sunday at Detroit, they have gone 0-for-8 (6/23), 0-for-4 (6/24), 0-for-5 (6/26), 0-for-10 (6/27) and 0-for-8 (6/28)… their last hit with RISP came in the 10th inning on Sunday at Detroit when Christian Vázquez drove in Willi Castro from second base with a single.
The Twins enter today 22nd in baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position at .243 (148-for-610)…however, their .347 on-base percentage with RISP ranks seventh best in baseball…Minnesota also has the ninth-best OPS (.788) and eighth-best SLG (.441) with RISP this season.
Notable individuals with RISP this season: Royce Lewis is hitting .435 (10-for-23)…Donovan Solano is hitting .410 (16-for-39)…Christian Vázquez is hitting .333 (12-for-36).
ROYCE OF SUMMER: Royce Lewis went 0-for-4 on Wednesday afternoon, snapping his on-base streak at 11 games…regardless of the 0-for-4, he is hitting .333 (14-for-42) with one double, two home runs, five RBI, three walks, a .391 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage and an .891 OPS in his last 12 games.
In 11 road games for the Twins this season, Lewis is hitting .386 (17-for-44) with a .958 OPS.
Royce is hitting .353 (12-for-34) off breaking pitches this season, seventh best in the AL and 12th best in baseball (minimum 100 pitches).
Among all AL rookies with a minimum of 75 at-bats, Lewis ranks first in batting average (.318) and runs created-per-27 (7.40), second in OPS+ (128.9), third in OPS (.825) and wOBA (.359), fourth in slugging (.477), and fifth in on-base percentage (.348).
ED TALK: Edouard Julien has gone 5-for-16 (.313) in five games played on this trip…since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on June 10, Julien is hitting .308 (16-for-52) with six doubles, eight walks, a .393 on-base percentage and an .817 OPS in 16 games.
Among all AL rookies with a minimum of 100 at-bats, he ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.348) and fifth in slugging percentage (.439)
STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LOPEZ #49
2023: 3-5, 4.41 ERA CAREER: 31-36, 4.01 ERA
Making his 17th start and appearance and ninth road start of 2023…also his 111th career appearance (all starts) in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22).
Facing Baltimore for the second time in his career and first since August 4, 2020 with Miami; earned the win in the Marlins’ 4-0 shutout at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K).
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
LAST TIME OUT: Recorded his ninth quality start of the season but took the loss on June 24 against the Detroit Tigers in a 3-2 Twins’ defeat at Comerica Park…went 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits (all singles), with one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed all three runs in the bottom of the second inning on four singles and one walk, with catcher Eric Haase and rightfielder Zach McKinstry each recording RBI hits…after McKinstry’s two-run single, he retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced, allowing just two singles and striking out eight during the span… was relieved by Emilio Pagán to start the bottom of the seventh with the Twins trailing 3-2; Pagán and Jordan Balazovic combined to throw 2.0 scoreless innings, but Minnesota’s offense left eight men on base and struck out 13 times in the one-run loss, which evened the three-game series 1-1.
Recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts for the second time this year, also doing so on April 11 vs. Chicago-AL…was one short of his career high of 11, done twice previously (May 13, 2022 vs. Milwaukee, July 26, 2022 at Cincinnati).
Posted a scoreless first inning; has held his opponent scoreless in the first inning in five-straight starts and eight of his last 10 starts after doing so only twice in his first six starts of 2023.
Through 16 starts this season, López is among the American League leaders in several statistical categories, including strikeouts (120 – 3rd), FIP (3.26 – 7th), innings pitched (96.0 – T-10th) and opponent OPS (.670 – 14th).
TWO STARTS AGO: Took the loss in his first career start against the Boston Red Sox on June 19 at Target Field in a 9-3 Twins’ defeat…pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs (4 earned) on six hits, with three walks, one hit batter and nine strikeouts…walked centerfielder Adam Duvall with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning; marked the fourth time in his career in which he issued a bases-loaded walk, last doing so with Miami on September 4, 2020 at Tampa Bay (Kevin Kiermaier)…allowed a two-run double to leftfielder Jarren Duran in the top of the fourth…was relieved by Jovani Moran in the top of the sixth after yielding two hits and recording two strikeouts; Moran allowed both inherited runners to score on rightfielder Alex Verdugo’s bases-loaded triple…Twins were held scoreless in the final four innings, falling in the series opener.
600 CLUB: López struck out rightfielder Zach McKinstry in the first inning of his last start on June 24 at Detroit to become the 19th Venezuelan-born pitcher in American League/National League history to record 600 career strikeouts and the fifth active Venezuelan to reach 600…here is the list of active Venezuelan-born pitchers with at least 600 career strikeouts:
PITCHER STRIKEOUTS YEARS
Carlos Carrasco……………………………………….. 1540 …………………………………………………. 2009-23
Eduardo Rodriguez…………………………………… 1031 …………………………………………………. 2015-23
Germán Márquez………………………………………. 983 ………………………………………………….. 2016-23
Martín Pérez…………………………………………….. 969 ………………………………………………….. 2012-23
Pablo López…………………………………………….. 609 ………………………………………………….. 2018-23
BIRD WATCHING: Facing Baltimore for the second time in his career and first since August 4, 2020 with Miami; earned the win in the Marlins’ 4-0 victory at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, pitching 5.0 shutout innings and allowing only two hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts, which tied his then career high…outfielders Anthony Santander and Austin Hays are the only Orioles who faced López in 2020 and are still on Baltimore’s active roster, combining to go 2-for-6 with two singles against him…since his win over Baltimore in 2020, he is 1-5 with a 4.21 ERA (51.1 IP, 24 ER), 13 walks and 60 strikeouts in nine starts against American League East division opponents (TB – 5, TOR – 2, NYY – 1, BOS – 1), with his teams going 1-8 in those nine games.
PABLO ON THE ROAD: Making his ninth road start of 2023 tonight; is 1-3, 2.94 ERA (49.0 IP, 16 ER) with 11 walks and 60 strikeouts in eight previous road Starts…has received an average of only 1.84 runs of support on the road this year, the second-lowest road run support average in baseball (DET’s Joey Wentz – 1.67)…Twins have lost his last four road starts and are 2-6 when he starts on the road this season…looking for his first road win since defeating Kansas City on March 30 at Kauffman Stadium on Opening Day (5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K)…is 2-2, 5.94 ERA (47.0 IP, 31 ER) with 16 walks and 60 strikeouts in eight home starts this year; Twins have gone 6-2 in those starts.
In 52 career road starts, he is 15-19, 4.25 ERA (275.0 IP, 130 ER) with 74 walks and 281 strikeouts…is 16-17, 3.81 ERA (331.0 IP, 140 ER) with 95 walks and 328 strikeouts in 58 career home starts.
RIGHT ON: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .202 (41-for-203) batting average this season… his 76 strikeouts against righties are the fifth most in the American League this year, trailing only HOU’s Framber Valdez (92), TB’s Shane McClanahan (86), TOR’s Kevin Gausman (82) and LAA’s Reid Detmers (80)…his .202 opponent batting average vs. righties this season ranks eighth in the AL (min. 10 GS)…left-handed hitters are batting at a .270 (43-for-159) clip against him in 2023… over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.654 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.745 OPS).
CUTTING TO THE CHASE: Through 16 starts, López has a career-high 36.2 chase percentage, placing him in the 96th percentile in all of baseball, according to Baseball Savant…his chase rate ranks second on the Twins staff (Joe Ryan – 37.5) and 15th in the majors…also has a career-best 52.5 percent swing rate and 29.9 percent whiff rate in 2023; his whiff rate ranks in the 78th percentile in all of baseball.
PITCH BREAKDOWN: Used a five-pitch mix in his first 16 starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…has primarily used his sweeper and sinker against right-handed hitters, favoring his changeup and curveball against left-handed hitters…opposing batters went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts against his curveball in his last start on June 24 at Detroit; marked his highest strikeout total with his curveball in any start in his career…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (95.0)……………..34.8% (526 pitches, 259/267)… .275 (30-for-109), 7 2B, 6 HR, 37 K Changeup (88.5)……………………21.3% (322 pitches, 130/192)…… .178 (16-for-90), 2 2B, 1 HR, 29 K Sweeper (84.4)……………………….20.5% (310 pitches, 264/46).. .167 (11-for-66), 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 28 K Curveball (82.3)…………………….. 11.9% (180 pitches, 47/133) .. .255 (13-for-51), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 22 K Sinker (94.5) …………………………..11.4% (172 pitches, 167/5)…… .311 (14-for-45), 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 K
Lopez’s changeup has accumulated a run value of -6 this year, tied for the eighth-best run value on a changeup in baseball, according to Baseball Savant.
In his first 16 starts this year, 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.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
WEDNESDAY’S NEWS: The Orioles fell to the Reds on Wednesday night, 11-7 in 10 innings, in the rubber game of the three-game set…Adam Frazier hit a game-tying two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning to force extras…Gunnar Henderson hit a go-ahead three-run triple in the first inning after the O’s trailed 3-0 after a half an inning.
Frazier’s long ball was his ninth in 76 games (63 GS) this season after he hit three in 156 games (140 GS) last year with Seattle; his career high is 10 home runs set in 2018 and matched in 2019, both with the Pirates.
Henderson’s triple home-to-third time of 11.43 seconds marked the fastest triple by an O’s batter this season, per Statcast.
RHP Félix Bautista pitched himself out of a second and third, no out jam in the ninth inning by striking out a pair; he fanned Spencer Steer with a 103.3 mph fastball, the fastest strikeout pitch by an Oriole in the Statcast era (since 2015); it was the eighth-fastest strikeout pitch in MLB this season.
HOME COOKING: The O’s are in the middle of a nine-game, 10-day homestand…After going 2-1 against the Mariners last weekend and 1-2 against the Reds earlier this week, the Orioles host the Twins through Sunday.
Baltimore has won eight of the last 12 games at Oriole Park since June 9.
The O’s are 25-16 (.610) in Baltimore this year, tied for the fifth-best home record in MLB; the Orioles have played at a .600 clip at home in 16 previous seasons in team history (since 1954), most recently when they did so in three straight from 2014-16.
MID-TERMS: Baltimore is scheduled to hit the midpoint of the season with game 81 tomorrow…Last year, the O’s were 37-44 and in last place in the AL East, 21.5 games behind the Yankees, and 6.5 games behind the Rays for the final Wild Card spot at the halfway mark…Entering today, the Orioles are 48-31 and in second place in the AL East, 5.5 games behind the Rays and are leading the Wild Card with a 4.5-game cushion on the Yankees.
The O’s have slashed .253/.323/.423 (675-for-2666) this season compared to .229/.297/.383 (627-for-2736) through 81 games last year; the team has scored 59 more runs (388 to 329), have 80 more total bases (1128 to 1048), and 11 more home runs (95 to 84) this season compared to the midpoint last year.
NO JUNE SWOON: Baltimore is batting .279/.353/.461 (112-for-401) with 20 doubles, 17 home runs, 64 runs scored, 61 RBI, and 44 walks in 12 home games in June…Overall, the Orioles have hit .261/.325/.429 at Oriole Park and .245/.320/.417 on the road this season.
AGAINST THE TWINS: The Orioles and Twins meet for the first time this season with three games through Sunday…The O’s will travel to Minnesota next weekend to play at Target Field from July 7-9…Baltimore is 5-4 in the last nine games after losing 16 straight games to the Twins from March 31, 2018 to May 31, 2021…The 16-game losing skid is the longest by the O’s against Minnesota since the moved to the Twin Cities in 1961 and the third-longest against a single opponent in team history (since 1954).
The O’s hit 11 home runs in the seven games against the Twins last season; nine were solo shots.
WILD WILD WEST: Jordan Westburg has hit in his first three career games, slashing .417/.500/.500 (5-for-12) with one double, two runs, two RBI, and two walks…He is the first O’s batter with a hit in his first three games since Gunnar Henderson did so in four straight from August 31 to September 3, 2022, and the first Orioles hitter with five hits in his first three career games since Henderson.
He is the fifth Orioles player with five or more hits, multiple RBI, and multiple runs scored in his first three major league games along with Joey Rickard, Manny Machado, Rhyne Hughes, and Jeffrey Hammonds, per STATS.
HAYS OF OUR LIVES: Austin Hays ranks third the AL (see box at right) and sixth in MLB with a .314 batting average…He also ranks among AL leaders in doubles (T-4th, 22), OPS (7th, .853), slugging percentage (8th, .498), and hits (9th, 85) …Only one Oriole has ever won a batting title: Orioles Legend and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who hit .316 in 1966…Hanser Alberto, who finished with a .305 batting average in 2019, is the only qualified Oriole in the last 14 seasons to finish the year with a batting average of at least .300.
No player has ever led the AL in batting average at the All-Star Break and not been an All-Star, according to the Elias Sports Bureau; there have been six such instances in the NL, most recently Hunter Pence in 2007 and Larry Walker in 2002.
TONY’S TATERS: Anthony Santander is slashing .289/.349/.543 (57-for-197) with 12 doubles, one triple, 12 homers, 32 runs scored, 36 RBI, 16 walks, two hit-by-pitches, and one stolen base in 50 games since the start of May…During that time, he ranks among AL leaders in slugging percentage (5th), total bases (T-5th, 107), extra-base hits (T-5th, 25), home runs (T-5th), RBI (T-5th), and OPS (7th, .892)…He homered in three straight games from June 23-25 for the second time in his career (also: 8/8-11/21) and is the second Oriole to homer in three straight games this season, joining Gunnar Henderson from June 10-13.
His 14 home runs lead the O’s and rank fourth among MLB switch hitters.
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles today recalled Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk and placed Keegan Akin on the 15-day Injured List with lower back discomfort, retroactive to June 30.
STARTING PITCHER – #64 DEAN KREMER RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 17th start of the season, ninth at home, and second career start against the Twins tonight…Made a career-high 22 appearances (21 GS) in 2022, 11 appearances at home (10 GS), and 11 on the road… Owned an 8-7 record with a 3.23 ERA (45 ER/125.1 IP) and 87 strikeouts…Made six starts of 5.0-or-more scoreless innings, tied for seventh-most in the AL… Acquired by the Orioles along with INF Breyvic Valera, OF Yusniel Diaz, RHP Zach Pop, and INF Rylan Bannon in exchange for INF Manny Machado on July 18, 2018… Originally selected by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of UNLV.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor in the decision in his last start on June 24 vs. Seattle…Allowed three runs on five hits (career-high-tying 3 HR, also: 9/11/21 vs. TOR [G1]) with one walk and five strikeouts in a season-high 7.0 innings… Completed 7.0 frames for the first time since his complete-game shutout on September 23, 2022 vs. Houston…Marked his seventh quality start of the season…Threw 87 pitches, 60 strikes.
‘KREM’ OF THE CROP: Kremer has pitched to a 6-2 record with a 3.39 ERA (22 ER/58.1 IP) and six quality starts in his last 10 assignments since May 5…Has completed at least 5.0 innings in each of those games and has allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in nine of his last 10 outings…Tied a career high with three straight wins from May 5-21 (also: 6/12-7/9/22)…Tossed a career-high-tying seven strikeouts on June 18 at Chicago-NL…Worked a season-high 7.0 innings on June 24 vs. Seattle.
BRINGING THE HEAT: Kremer has relied on his fastball more than any other pitch this season, throwing it 37.1 percent of the time…The heater has a Run Value of -6, tied for the best pitch by an O’s starter this season, per Statcast…Opposing hitters are slashing .260/.299/.465 (33-for-127) with 39 strikeouts against his primary pitch through his first 16 starts of the campaign…He has induced 82 Swings and misses on 540 fastballs for a 15.2 percent swing-and-miss rate.
ENJOYING THE NIGHT LIFE: Owns a 7-1 record with a 3.86 ERA (22 ER/51.1 IP) and five quality starts in nine night starts this season…His seven victories after dark
are tied for the second-most in MLB entering today’s game…Opposing batters are slashing .270/.311/.435 (54-for-200) against Kremer in those games.
AGAINST THE TWINS: Making his second career start against the Twins…Dealt the loss in his only outing against the AL Central foe on May 25, 2021 at Target Field…Allowed five runs on six hits (1 HR) with three walks, two wild pitches, and Five strikeouts in 4.0 innings…Threw 94 pitches, 51 strikes.
AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: Making his seventh career start against the AL Central tonight…Has pitched to a 2-4 record with a 5.22 ERA (17 ER/29.1 IP) through his first six career outings against the division…Dealt the loss in his last start against the AL Central on April 29 (G1) at Detroit…Allowed five runs on a career-high 11 hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5.0 innings…Threw 89 pitches, 57 strikes.
HOME COOKING: Making his ninth home start of the 2023 campaign…Has pitched to a 4-1 record with a 4.50 ERA (23 ER/46.0 IP) and four quality starts through his first eight outings at Oriole Park…Did not factor into the decision in his last home outing on June 24 vs. Seattle…Allowed four runs in each of his first three home starts of the season but has pitched to a 3.19 ERA (11 ER/31.0 IP) in his last five assignments at Oriole Park since May 10.
