Minnesota Update, 6.27.2023

The Popkins Plan isn't working for the Twins.

Baseball is unpredictable. In fact, all of sports are unpredictable. It’s part of the reason why they’re so much fun to watch. If they were predictable, there’d be no point in turning the game on.

So when the Twins matched up against Spencer Strider, the young fireballer from Atlanta that leads the league in strikeouts, that strikes out hitters like he’s a late-inning reliever, that throws 98 on the corners… well, you have to believe in that unpredictability. You have to believe that it’s baseball and anything can happen.

But that all said: you can’t exactly be surprised about Monday’s result, a 4-1 loss for the Twins.

Photo by Erin Doering on Unsplash

Strider struck out ten and allowed just one run, a second-inning Joey Gallo homer. Sonny Gray went toe-to-toe with him for six innings, but gave up a homer to Marcell Ozuna in the seventh. Emilio Pagán came in, gave up another home run to Ronald Acuña Jr, and that was the ballgame.

The pitchers get their names in that paragraph, to tell you who gave up the runs, but it’s worth remembering that the runs matter in part because the Twins didn’t score any. The Twins got a runner to second base in the first inning, and again in the eighth. And in the ninth, Donovan Solano singled and then walked to second base. So they had five total at-bats with a runner in scoring position, and went 0-for-5.

The Twins 3-4-5 hitters, which on Monday were Max Kepler, Carlos Correa, and Willi Castro, all have a sub-.700 OPS (.729 is currently the league average). Donovan Solano is the only hitter from last night’s lineup that’s batting higher thnt .270.

Much has been made, and much should be made, of Royce Lewis’s quotes following Sunday’s game. “When you strike out, no one is doing anything except for the pitcher,” he said. “Honestly, I get frustrated after a while.”

Less was made of Rocco Baldelli’s quote, which was along the same lines: “A home run is always great, but we’re not going to hit a home run every time we step to the plate, so what are we trying to do?” he said.

“It’s a mindset,” said Lewis. “I looked at where some of our plans were going and how the pitchers were pitching us and they weren’t attacking us with our plan of getting a mistake. I was like, ‘Why don’t I just start being aggressive, putting the ball in play? I know I can at least touch it and go to right field.’”

The sound you heard was Twins fans applauding, and that’s not even mentioning how Lewis name-checked Luis Arraez, who is approaching sainthood among Twins fans as they watch (and miss) his bat-on-ball skills from afar.

Something has to change! I know Correa raved about hitting coach David Popkins, but it does seem like the game has passed the Twins by, right now. The Popkins Plan doesn’t seem to be working. Every team has guys throwing 98 that are coming from everywhere. Almost every pitcher has strikeout stuff - not even just the relievers, but starters like Strider, who are averaging a strikeout and a half per inning.

I do recognize that nobody takes batting average seriously, and it’s all about driving the baseball. But maybe Lewis is right. First get the bat on the ball, even if you have to choke up and hit a tennis backhand the other way. Maybe start there, because the current plan isn’t working.

TONIGHT’S SLATE

TWINS at Atlanta, 6:20pm LYNX vs Seattle, 7:00pm

ON DECK

LOONS vs FC Kaiserslautern (friendly), Wednesday

SAINTS vs Gwinnett, Wednesday
CROWS vs Thunder Bay, Wednesday
AURORA at Green Bay, Thursday
MNUFC2 vs Portland Timbers2, Sunday