Randy Dobnak, Mr. Reliable, delivered six more shutout innings pitching in the stadium he used to visit as a kid. He has now given up just one run in 15 innings pitched this season. Continue reading for the full recap ...
Dobnak: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Home Runs: Kepler (4)
The Legend of Randy Dobnak Continues
We all know the story of Randy Dobnak being an uber driver, but the story of Randy Dobnak is becoming much more than that. The story of Dobnak is now that of a really good big league pitcher who’s throwing high quality innings for a very potent postseason contending team.
Making his first career appearance in his home city of Pittsburgh, Randy Dobnak once again provided the Twins with a stellar outing and held the Pirates to no runs through six innings while only surrendering three hits, two of which were infield singles. With multiple starting pitchers on the shelf, Dobnak has emerged as a reliable quality arm for the Twins rotation and continues to give them a chance to win every time he takes the mound.
Trevor Williams Silences the Bomba Squad
Trevor Williams is certainly no household name but he was able to neutralize the high powered Minnesota lineup for seven innings. The Twins were unable to get a single extra base hit against Williams and their lone run off him came courtesy of a bloop single by Marwin Gonzalez that was mere centimeters from being foul.
The Twins finally broke through for another run in the ninth inning when Marwin Gonzalez once again delivered the blow on a single, scoring Buxton and pushing the Minnesota lead to 2-0. Max Kepler delivered the finishing blow later that inning when he launched a three-run home run giving Minnesota a 5-0 lead and sending the non-existent crowd home early.
Twins Bullpen Does It Again
One of the early storylines for this Twins team has been the dominance of their bullpen, which was on full display again tonight. Rocco turned to the ‘pen in the seventh inning following the stellar outing by Dobnak and the trio of Stashak, Duffey and Alcala slammed the door on Pittsburgh, preserving the victory.
Although the one blemish came in the bottom of the ninth, when Josh Bell launched a two-run home run off Jorge Alcala.
All We Do Is Win Win Win No Matter What
Even on a night in which the Twins’ bats were as cold as Minnesota in January for most of the game, they were still able to win their sixth game in a row and improve to 10-2, their best start to a season in franchise history.
This team has shown the ability to win in a multitude of ways, which is a sign of a very good team, which is exactly what the 2020 Twins are.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
Postgame Pint
Immediately following the game, Twins Daily's writers Seth Stohs, Matt Braun, Matthew Taylor and Renabanena were joined by a live virtual audience and discussed the Twins' 5-2 win over the Pirates.
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