MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Have gone 1-4 through five games on their current six-game roadtrip, getting swept in three games in Kansas City last weekend, followed by a split of the first two games in St. Louis…tonight, Minnesota will complete the trip and series with the third of three at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals…after tonight’s game, the Twins will travel back to Minneapolis to play a three-game homestand/weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks… they will hit the road again after the Arizona series and play a seven-game roadtrip with stops in Detroit (August 7-10) and Philadelphia (August 11-13)…the Twins have gone 30-24 at home and 25-30 on the road.
The Twins are 1-6 in their last seven games after going 9-2 in their first 11 coming out of the All-Star break.
RYAN CAN’T TURN DOWN VOLUME ON FIREWORKS: The Twins lost to the Cardinals last night at Busch Stadium by a score of 7-3…Joe Ryan (9-8) was the starter and loser, allowing sev- en runs on nine hits in 4.0 innings pitched, with one walk and four strikeouts…he allowed four home runs on the night, three coming in the second inning, accounting for all his runs allowed…Josh Winder pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief…the offense recorded just four hits on the night and were held hitless until a Michael A. Taylor sixth-inning single…Matt Wallner drove in all three runs for Minnesota with a three-run homer in the seventh inning.
SHOW ME STATE OF MIND: Twins and Cardinals are playing each other in the regular season for the 36th time in their regular season history…Twins will host the Cardinals in 2024 for a three-game weekend series at Target Field from August 23-25…Twins are 18-17 all-time against St. Louis in the regular season (since 1997) and 10-5 in their last 15…they were 2-7 all-time in the regular season at the old Busch Stadium (1997-2001) and are 7-7 all-time at the new Busch Stadium (2009-23).
Donovan Solano is slashing .333/.368/.352 in 18 career games at Busch Stadium.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE: The Twins have gone 11-14 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 vs. Los Angeles-NL, 1-2 vs. San Francisco, 2-0 vs. Milwaukee, 0-3 at Atlanta and 1-1 at St. Louis.
After this series, Minnesota’s remaining 2023 IL schedule includes Target Field visits from the Diamondbacks (August 4-6), Pirates (August 18-20) and Mets (September 8-10)…the Twins will also play road games at Phillies (August 11-13), Brewers (August 22-23), Reds (September 18-20) and Rockies (September 29-October 1).
Jorge Polanco has reached safely in 12 of 13 Interleague games this season, hitting .294 (15-for-51) with four doubles, three home runs, five RBI, five walks, and a .906 OPS…he has reached safely in seven of his last 17 plate appearances in IL Play (5 hits, 2 walks).
SERIES CONVERSATIONS: The Twins are seeking their 16th series victory this season…they are 15-15-4 in series play in 2023, going 9-6-2 at home and 6-9-2 on the road.
Twins are 6-3-3 all-time vs. the Cardinals in series play…their last series victory over St. Louis was a two-game sweep at Target Field from July 28-29, 2020…their last series win at Busch Stadium came in a two-game sweep from May 7-8, 2018.
Entering today, the Twins have gone 5-4-1 in their last 10 series, dating back to their June 23-25 series at Detroit.
THE LEFTORIUM: Today marks the 24th time this season Minnesota has faced a lefty starter… Twins are 11-12 when a left-hander is the opposing starter…the Twins have faced three left-handed starters since the All-Star break: Oakland’s Ken Waldichuk (5-4 win on 7/14), Oakland’s JP Sears (5-4 win on 7/16) and Kansas City’s Ryan Yarbrough (2-1 loss on 7/30).
The Twins have the lowest batting average (.219) and lowest OPS (.657) vs. lefties in baseball.
RATED ROOKIE: Edouard Julien is hitting .317 (40-for-126) with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 10 RBI, 22 runs scored, 18 walks, a .404 on-base percentage and a .952 OPS in 41 games since June 10.
Among all major league rookies with a minimum of 200 plate appearances, Julien ranks second in OPS (.889), and third in batting average (.287), on-base percentage (.373) and slugging percentage (.516).
MAD MAX, FURY ROAD: In 15 road games since June 30, Max Kepler is hitting .327 (17-for-52) with four doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, four walks, a .368 on-base percentage, a .635 slugging percentage and a 1.003 OPS.
NEXT LEVEL JEFF: Ryan Jeffers has hit safely in each of his last nine games with a plate appearance (career-best)…in his last 19 games, Jeffers is hitting .377 (23-for-61) with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI, nine runs scored, seven walks, a .449 on-base percentage, a .541 slugging percentage and a .990 OPS.
Among primary catchers with a minimum of 175 plate appearances, his .829 OPS ranks third in all of baseball, trailing Atlanta’s Sean Murphy (.902) and Los Angeles-NL’s Will Smith (.853).
HEART AND HUSTLE: The MLBPAA announced the 30 preliminary winners of the 2023 Heart and Hustle Award earlier today…this year’s Twins winner is right-handed pitcher Pablo López…the award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game…the Heart and Hustle Award is the only award in MLB that is voted on by former players…the overall winner will be announced in mid-November.
THROWBACK THURSDAY: Bally Sports North TV analyst Roy Smalley never played any regular season games in his career vs. the Cardinals, but played in four of the 1987 World Series games…in the series, he went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks in four plate appearances… he appeared in Game 4 and Game 5 at old Busch Stadium as a pinch hitter, reaching on an E3 in Game 4 and drawing a walk in Game 5.
Due to the scheduling format at the time, the Cardinals were the only National League team that Smalley played against in his 13-year career.
OH JEEZ, YA KNOW, THAT’S PRETTY COOL: Prior to Saturday’s game against Arizona, the Twins will formally enshrine club legend Joe Mauer as the 38th member of the Twins Hall of Fame…the St. Paul, Minnesota native and former number one overall selection in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft played 15 seasons for the Twins from 2004-18.
STARTING PITCHER – #54 SONNY GRAY
2023: 4-4, 3.22 ERA CAREER: 94-81, 3.54 ERA
Making his 269th career appearance and 260th career start…also his 22nd start/appearance this season.
Looking for his first win since April 30 vs. Kansas City…his 15-game winless streak is the longest of his career…owns the third-longest winless streak in Twins’ history (since 1961).
Facing St. Louis for the first time since September 12, 2021…is 2-5, 5.74 ERA (42.1 IP, 27 ER) with 19 walks and 44 strikeouts in his previous nine starts.
Acquired by the Twins on March 13, 2022 in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, along with right-handed pitcher Francis Peguero, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chase Petty.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision despite recording a quality start on July 28 against Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium…pitched 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits (1 HR), with no walks and five strikeouts in a 10-inning 8-5 Twins’ defeat…picked off Bobby Witt Jr. at first base after allowing a single in the first inning…tossed a 1-2-3 second inning…yielded a solo home run to Kyle Isbel to lead off the third inning, marked the first home run Gray has allowed to a Royals batter since August 1, 2014 (Raúl Ibañez), snapping a 73.2 IP homerless streak…pitched 1-2-3 fourth and fifth innings…permitted an RBI double to Witt Jr. and an RBI single to MJ Melendez in the sixth inning…relieved by Emilio Pagán in the seventh inning…Dylan Floro replaced Jovani Moran in the eighth inning in his Twins debut; allowed an RBI single to Witt Jr. (run charged to Moran)… Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless ninth inning…Jhoan Duran entered in the 10th inning and yielded a walk-off grand slam to Witt Jr.
Gray extended his career-long winless streak to 15 starts, last earning a victory on April 30 vs. Kansas City; owns the third-longest winless streak by a starter in Twins history (1961-), behind only Roger Erickson (17; September 19, 1978-August 15, 1979) and Liam Hendriks (17; September 6, 2011-September 13, 2012).
Allowed more than two runs against Kansas City for the first time since April 17, 2015 (4 runs), snapping a streak of nine-consecutive starts vs. the Royals in which he pitched at least 5.0 innings and allowed two-or-fewer runs…tied Nolan Ryan (September 21, 1972-July 25, 1974) for the third-longest streak, trailing Teddy Higuera (10 starts, June 5, 1985-June 22, 1989) and Roger Clemens (11 starts, August 21, 1984-April 8, 1989).
TWO STARTS AGO: Did not factor into the decision despite recording a quality start on July 22 against Chicago-AL at Target Field…pitched 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits, with one walk and four strikeouts in a 3-2 Twins’ victory, opposite Dylan Cease…worked around a pair of singles to Andrew Benintendi and Eloy Jiménez, and a walk to Yasmani Grandal to complete a scoreless first inning…tossed a 1-2-3 second inning…allowed both runs in the third inning after yielding one-out singles to Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr., who then executed a double steal of home and second to get the White Sox on the board; Grandal then singled home Robert Jr. for the second run…relieved by Jordan Balazovic in the seventh inning as the bullpen combined to pitch 3.0 scoreless innings… the Twins completed their 23rd come-from-behind win of the season in the seventh inning via an RBI double by Christian Vázquez and an RBI single from Michael A. Taylor (both off Gregory Santos).
AGAINST ST. LOUIS: Gray is facing St. Louis for the 10th time in his career, going 2-5, 5.74 ERA (42.1 IP, 27 ER) with 19 walks and 44 strikeouts in his nine prior starts…last faced the Cardinals on September 12, 2021 at Busch Stadium, when he took the 2-0 Cincinnati loss after pitching 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on three hits (1 HR), with one walk and six strikeouts…his lone blemish was in the first inning on a two-run home run by Nolan Arenado…retired 19 of the 21 batters he faced after the home run…relieved by Tony Santillan in the eighth who pitched a 1-2-3 inning.
Owns the fourth-lowest opponent batting average (.228) against the Cardinals since 2019 (min. 8 GS).
Tonight is his fifth Interleague start of the season (May 12 vs. Chicago-NL, May 17 at Los Angeles-NL, May 23 vs. San Francisco and June 26 at Atlanta)…is 0-1, 3.43 ERA (21.0 IP, 8 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts in his prior four starts, taking the loss at Atlanta… is 1-1, 3.28 ERA (35.2 IP, 13 ER) with 14 walks and 38 strikeouts in seven Interleague starts since joining the Twins.
ON THE ROAD: Gray is making his 11th road start of the season; is 1-2, 3.48 ERA (54.1 IP, 21 ER) with 25 walks and 48 strikeouts in his 10 prior road outings…is 5-5, 3.55 ERA (106.1 IP, 42 ER) with 36 walks and 87 strikeouts in 21 road starts since becoming a Twin.
Looking for his first win at Busch Stadium…is 0-3, 3.49 ERA (28.1 IP, 11 ER) with 12 walks and 27 strikeouts in five career starts at St. Louis…owns the fifth-lowest opponent OPS (.609) and sixth-lowest opponent batting average (.202) at Busch Stadium since 2019 (min. 5 GS).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals continue their longest homestand (10 games/11 days) of the season with the finale of a three-game series with the American League Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins, tonight at 6:45 p.m. Last night, the Cardinals powered their way to a 7-3 win behind four home runs over two innings accounting for all their runs. The Cardinals began the homestand dropping three of four to the Chicago Cubs and will conclude the homestand with a three-game series vs. the Colorado Rockies Friday through Sunday (Aug. 4-6).
FLIGHT PATTERN: St. Louis enters the day in last place in the NL Central, 10.5 games behind 1st place Cincinnati and 10.0 games back in the NL Wild Card chase … St. Louis has spent 87 of 123 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 44-65 (.404) after 109 games … With 53 games remaining on the schedule, the Cardinals need to go 33-20 (.623) to finish at .500. Their remaining schedule ranks 16th toughest with a .498 opponent winning percentage.
FOUR BOMBS AND SEVEN RUNS AGO…: The Cardinals hit four home runs over the first three innings last night accounting for all seven of their runs. The three home runs in the 2nd inning marked the 5th time this season the Cardinals hit three or more home runs in an inning with a season-high four vs. Los Angeles (NL) on May 18.
THE OUTFIELD: During the 2nd inning when the Cardinals hit three home runs, all three members of the Cardinals outfield homered (Tyler O’Neill-LF, Jordan Walker-RF & Lars Nootbaar-CF) marking the first time a Cardinals outfield trio homered in the same inning since Sept. 19, 2002 when Eli Marrero (RF), Jim Edmonds (CF) and Albert Pujols (LF) all launched consecutive bombs off Todd Jones at Coors Field.
10,000 WINS MILESTONES: Since St. Louis owner Chris von der Ahe changed the team nickname to Cardinals from Perfectos in 1900, the organization has recorded 9,999 wins. This ranks as the 2nd-most wins in Major League Baseball by a team which hasn’t changed its nickname or city location (i.e. Dodgers & Giants) behind the Pittsburgh Pirates (10,294), who became the Pirates from the Allegheny’s in 1891. Cincinnati, which switched its nickname from the Red Stockings to Reds to Redlegs to Reds has 10,834 overall, but since they changed their name to Redlegs from 1954-58 for fear their team would be associated with Communism, snapping their streak. – Cardinals Gameday Associates
START-ING TO COME TOGETHER: Cardinals starting pitchers have hurled back-to-back starts of 7.0 innings or more and have 6.0 or more innings per start in their last five straight games. The last time Cardinals starting pitchers posted three straight starts of 7.0 innings or more was April 25-27, 2021, when Jack Flaherty (7.0), Adam Wainwright (9.0) and Carlos Martinez (7.1) completed the trifecta. You have to go back to 2019 for the last time the Cardinals went through a rotation for five straight starts (Aug. 27-Sept. 1) of 6.0 innings or more and also pulling off the feat six times (July 7-16, 2019).
HEART & HUSTLE AWARD FINALIST: This year’s Heart & Hustle Award Finalist from the St. Louis Cardinals is infielder Brendan Donovan. The Heart & Hustle award honors active players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game. The Heart & Hustle Award presented by MLBPAA is also the only award in Major League Baseball that is voted on by former players. The Cardinals have won three league awards over the 18 years its been presented: Paul Goldschmidt (2022), Albert Pujols (2009) & David Eckstein (2005).
EIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH: When Jordan Walker slammed his 10th home run of the season last night, the Cardinals became the 5th team in MLB this season with eight or more players posting double-digit home run totals. The Atlanta Braves lead MLB with nine, while the Rangers, Dodgers and Rays are tied with the Cardinals at eight. The franchise record stands at 11 by the 2019 team (Bader, Carpenter, DeJong, Edman, Fowler, Goldschmidt, Martinez, Molina, Ozuna, Wieters, Wong), while the 2000 and 2016 teams each had nine players with 10+ home runs.
YOUNG BUCK: Jordan Walker continues to add to his storied rookie season as his double-digit home run total made him the 3rd-youngest Cardinals player to hit 10 or more home runs (21-years, 72-days), behind Curt Flood (20.209) in 1958 and Rogers Hornsby (21.018) in 1917. The most recent Cardinals player to hit double-digit home runs at age 21 was Albert Pujols in 2001.
COMPLETING THE CIRCUIT: Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has yet to hit a home run in his career against the Minnesota Twins. The Twins are the only team the slugger has yet to clear the fence against among his 333 career home runs. He would become the 14th active player to complete the circuit (full list left in sidebar). -Elias Sports Bureau
INTERLEAGUE INSTIGATOR: Nolan Arenado tied Tuesday’s game with a two-out RBI single in the 6th inning, it marked his 30th RBI in Interleague games this season. Arenado ranks 2nd among all National League players behind Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies (31) and trails only Alex Bregman (HOU) who has 32 this season. With the expanded Interleague schedule in 2023, Bregman, Arenado and Albies already rank 1-2-3 for single season RBI in Interleague games each playing over 33 games, however, Arenado held the previous single-season mark with 29 Interleague RBI in 20 games during the 2019 season with Colorado.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP MATTHEW LIBERATORE (1-3, 6.75)
- Making his 9th start of the season (10th app.) and 16th career start (19th app.).
- Former 1st round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays is making his first career regular season start/appearance vs. the Minnesota Twins.
- It’s his first game action since July 22 start at Charlotte for Memphis (AAA) and first Major League start/appearance since July 5 at Miami.
- Has made 9 of 15 career starts on the road. Still looking for his first career winning road decision (0-4, 9.34 ERA, 35.2 IP); or win away from Busch Stadium.
- Is 3-1 career in his home starts. Is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts (5 app.) at home this season, including “home” game start on 6/25 in London vs. CHI.
- All three of his career wins have come against N.L. Central opponents and all were scoreless starts allowing just three hits.
- Holding opposing LHB to .222 BA (6-27) and RHB .349 (37-106). Issued his first walk of the 2023 season to a LH batter (29 TBF) in his start vs. SF (6/12) – M. Conforto.
- Has allowed just 2 HR’s this season in 32.0 IP, both coming on the road.
- The Cardinals are 8-7 in his 15 career starts and 11-7 overall in his 18 total appearances.
LAST TIME OUT
- Fanned 5 over his 5.2 IP on 7/22 at Charlotte, taking a no-decision in the Memphis Redbirds 8-5 win. It was his longest outing since going 6.0 IP on 6/12 vs. San Francisco.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
7/22 @CLT W 8-5 — 5.2 5 2 2 3 5 0 88-52
2023 SEASON
- Made an International start in London, England vs. CHI (6/25). Announced as the starting pitcher less than 15 hours prior when Jack Flaherty was scratched due to injury. Received a no decision after allowing four unearned runs in the 1st inning, but clamped down and did not allow another run for the next five outs.
- Become the first Cardinals rookie to start a regular season game against the NYY, when he drew starting assignment in Game 2 of July 1 doubleheader. Dropped a 6-2 decision as he failed to get out of the 5th inning for 3rd-straight start.
- Allowed his 1st HR of the 2023 season in his start at TEX (6/6). The 3rd inning solo HR by the Rangers’ Nathanial Lowe snapped his string of 13.0 homerless innings pitched to begin the season.
- Began the season with Memphis (AAA) and made eight starts before getting recalled to St. Louis for a May 17 start vs. Milwaukee.
