#LosDoyers give the ball to eighty Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 2.76 ERA), who just got called up from the minors for tonight's start. the Twins hope righty Sonny Gray (6-3, 3.19 ERA) has more luck against Dodgers bats than Jow Ryan had in last night's 10-3 drubbing.
For fans at Dodger Stadium, tonight is Freddie Freeman Bobblehead night so it'll be interesting to see how he does. His son did pretty well throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Twins 2B Luis Arraez gets things started with a line drive double to CT3 in left field, and you may not need a program to know who's up next. The sheer volume of booing tells you it's former A*tro Carlos Correa, who got a huge round of cheering for swinging at a 3-1 pitch, and the cheers got even louder when he struck out on the very next pitch.
That's Pepiot's first K of the night, and if #Dodgers pitchers can collect 9 more, LA area fans will get free food tomorrow. Since #Twins batters struck out 11 times last night, it will be 2 days straight of free food in the City of Angels.
2B Jorge Polanco flied out to Cody Bellinger in center field, and RF Max Kepler popped out to Trea Turner at short.
#CoSoBaseball #Dodgers #Twins #LosDoyers #SiempreLA #AlwaysLA #WinForVin
RF Mookie Betts leads off again for #LosDoyers, and an inauspicious start it was with a strikeout on a slider. Trea Turner (SS) hit a chopper to short and there's two outs.
Freddie Freeman knew he couldn't let down the fans, or his son, and hit a liner into right field for a single. Unfortunately, Will Smith, catching tonight, flied out to Max Kepler in foul territory by right field.
End 1
#Twins 0
#Dodgers 0
#CoSoBaseball #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #WinForVin
Jose Miranda, Lin-Manuel Miranda's cousin, singled on a line drive to Mookie Betts in right field to start the 2nd inning. Nick Gordon fly out that Belli only had to jog right a couple of steps to catch.
Jake Cave, who sounds like a comic superhero, struck out swinging for the 2nd out, and DH Tim Beckham fell victim to Pepiot's slider for the 3rd out of the inning and Pepiot's 3rd K of the night.
Max Muncy (3B) leads off the home half of the 2nd inning by getting funky, sending a sinker over the wall in right field for his 13th home run of the season. Max now has a 7-game hitting streak.
The Red Dream, DH Justin Taylor, hit a liner into the right center gap for his 24th double of the season and his 20th straight game getting on base. Gavin Lux reached on a fielder's choice as Twins' pitcher Sonny Gray threw JT out at 3rd.
Gavin stole 2nd as CT3 was at bat, and catcher Gary Sánchez's throw went wild and Gavin went to 3rd. CT3 worked a 7-pitch walk and runners are at the corners.
Cody Bellinger hit a sac fly out to Nick Gordon in center field, and Lux tagged up and went home for a very productive out.
That brings us back to the top of the order, but Mookie lines out to Miranda at 3rd to end the inning.
End 2
#Twins 0
#Dodgers 2
#CoSoBaseball #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #WinForVin
C Gary Sánchez leads off the 3rd inning after his throwing error resulted in Sonny Gray only getting one earned run in the 2nd. Sánchez takes a walk and Pepiot has seen the leadoff batter get on base against him in every inning so far tonight. Luis Arraez hit a liner to CT3 in left field for a single, and the boobirds tell us Carlos Correa is up to bat.
Correa went 0-4 last night, and he struck out in the 1st. This time he hit a high fly that Freddy Freeman caught in foul territory near right field.
Jorge Polanco hit a home run to right field and the #Twins are up 3-2. It's only the 2nd time the Dodgers have trailed their opponent in the 5-game homestand. Max Kepler hit a high popup that both Trea Turner and CT3 ran for in foul territory. Trea made the out, and Jose Miranda popped out to Gavin Lux to end the inning.
Trea Turner struck out to start the 3rd inning. Freddie Freeman hit a grounder that got under Polanco's glove and into right field. The official scorer charged Polanco with the error (E-3) that let Freddie reach first base. Gray took care of the error by throwing out Freeman as he tried to steal 2nd. It's just the 2nd time he was caught stealing, and Will Smith got called out on strikes to end the inning.
#CoSoBaseball #Dodgers #Twins #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #AlwaysLA #WinForVin
CF Nick Gordon, son of Tom "Flash" Gordon and brother of Dee Strange-Gordon, strikes out to go 0-2 so far in this game. Jake Cave collects the 2nd walk from Pepiot for the evening, and Tim Beckham cleared the bases by grounding into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Mid 4
#Twins 3
#Dodgers 2
#CoSoBaseball #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #WinForVin
I realize not everyone knows what I'm talking about when I refer to baseball positions by numbers, so here's a picture showing what numbers refer to what positions.
Source: WIkipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_positions
Max Muncy struck out swinging to start the home half of the 4th inning, and Justin Turner got caught looking at strike 3 for the 2nd out. Gavin Lux got a 2-out walk when the ump said he didn't go around on a 3-1 fastball. but Chris Taylor (CT3 for his uniform number, 3), grounded into a force out to end the inning.
#CoSoBaseball #Dodgers #Twins #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #WinForVin
Gary Sánchez, whose error allowed a run to score in the 2nd inning, makes the score 4-1 #Twins on a home run to center field. It's his 11th homer of the year, and a #Dodgers fan was smart to bring his glove to the game. He reached out over the railing to catch Sánchez's homerun.
Luis Arraez took a 4-pitch walk to release the boo-birds, and the former Cheater flied out to center to go 0-3 so far on the night.
Dave Roberts has seen enough from Ryan Pepiot and brings out the hook. Ryan went 4 1/3 innings, earning 4 runs on 5 hits, including 2 home runs, walking 3, and striking out 4. Alex Vesia comes in to try and limit the damage.
Jorge Polanco, who it a 3-run blast in the 3rd inning, walks on 6 pitches to bring up RF Max Kepler with runners on 1st and 2nd. Max popped up and the other Max, Max Muncy, caught it in foul territory for the 2nd out.
Jose Miranda scorched one that his Max Muncy on the right shoulder and the bases are loaded with 2 outs.
Nick Gordon comes out, and Gilberto Celestino comes in to pinch-hit for him. Celestino worked the count full. and with everyone on their feet, Vesia got him to fly out to Bellinger to end the inning.
Mid 5
#Twins 4
#Dodgers 2
#CoSoBaseball #LosDoyers #SiempreLA #WinForVin
Bellinger got the 2nd half of the game started with a pop fly to Luis Arraez just in front of 1st base. Mookie Betts extended his hitting streak to 16 games as he laced a liner into the right-center gap for a double. Trea Turner hit a seeing-eye single into left field and Mookie scores without a slide.
Freddie Freeman hit a home run straight up, and Gary Sánchez looked like he had trouble finding the ball before catching it 2-handed.
Sonny Gray threw one past Gary Sánchez and Trea took 2nd. ( Official scoring calls it a stolen base.) Will Smith sent the very next pitch into right field and the game is tied.
That brings out the hook for Sonny Gray, who threw 80 pitches over 4 2/3 innings (49 for strikes), getting 4 runs on 6 hits (3 earned), walking 2, and striking out 5. If Will Smith scores, it will count against Gray.
Lefty Caleb Thielbar comes in to finish off the 5th inning, and Doc Roberts lifts Max Muncy in favor of Hanser Alberto. Jose Miranda earns himself a spot on the highlight reel with an amazing snag of Alberto's line drive before it can give Will Smith a chance to score the leading run.
End 5
#Twins 4
#Dodgers 4
#CoSoBaseball #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #WinForVin
Hanser Alberto stays in the game at 3rd base, and lefty David Price comes in to pitch the 6th.
Jake Cave tried to change his mind about swinging at a cutter, but 3BU Ted Barrett said he went around. That's the 5th K by Dodgers pitchers, and if they can collect 5 more, LA area fans will have free food for the 2nd day in a row as the Dodgers take a travel day to KC.
#CoSoBaseball #Dodgers #Twins #SiempreLA #LosDoyers #FreeFoodWatch #WinForVin
JM Hardin