Randy Dobnak has been so good in 2020, he gave up one run over five innings tonight and his ERA actually went up. Eddie Rosario provided all the offense, hitting a grand slam in the third inning, as the Twins beat the Brewers 4-2.
Dobnak: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Home Runs: Rosario (4)
Top 3 WPA: Rosario .246, Dobnak .154, Rogers .099
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):
The start of the game between the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers didn’t take off like we had hoped for Twins. It felt like the bats were going to struggle just like they had been over the weekend. So when Eddie Rosario narrowly missed a flyball at the wall off the bat of Orlando Arcia to put the Brewers up 1-0. Doom and gloom began to set in once again.
All it took to get runs on the board and Dobnak cruising was a quirky third inning at the plate. Alex Avila led off with a solid single up the middle. Max Kepler reached on a swinging bunt towards shortstop. Polanco gained an extra life after Christian Yelich was ruled to drop a foul ball pop-up, and hit into a fielder's choice leaving runners on 1st and 3rd with one out.
With Nelson Cruz at the plate, Adrian Hauser plunked him right on the elbow to load the bases for Rosario. The man who coined the name Bomba Squad hit what may end up being one of the more relief-giving Bombas of the season. One that more than made up for Rosario’s misplay in the field earlier in the game, putting the Twins up 4-1. Those 4 runs would be all it took to get the win in 4-2 fashion.
The reason those runs were all that the Twins needed was because Randy Dobnak just continued to do Randy Dobnak things. The run surrendered in the second inning was only the second run given up by Dobnak this season. After that he really hit his stride and started to retire Brewer batter after Brewer batter. The current steadying force of the rotation finished with 5.0 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 strikeouts, and 1 walk.
Oh and in case you wanted to think about how good he was just a bit more there is this fun little graphic.
From the sixth inning on, the bullpen came in and did their job. The only hiccup was a solo homerun surrendered by Sergio Romo as he faced Keston Hiura. Tonight we got to see Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, and Taylor Rogers as well get on the mound and work the end of a game like we have grown used to seeing them do to close out a game. Even if Manny Pina reaching second base in the ninth caused a bit of a higher heart rate.
While there is plenty to celebrate with this win that breaks the 4-game losing streak the Twins were on, there are still some reasons for concern for a team with a World Series in their sights. What may be looming largest is that the offense isn’t quite yet at the level we came to expect over 2019.
That doesn’t mean that the Twins need to score 10 runs every game (but we wouldn’t complain). With 7 hits, once again the Twins needed to bunch together the right amount of hits to get the job done. On the other hand, that could be a win in itself, being the Twins played without Miguel Sano, Mitch Garver, and injured Josh Donaldson in the lineup.
What stood out to you from tonight's Twins 4-2 win? Let us know below in the comments!
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet