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Walker Jenkins has his first big moment with Twins · Twin Cities Territory

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Good day. 48 hours ago on this very podcast, we
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: talked about Walker Jenkins. He was in a terrible slump.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: In fact, we focused the entire episode on Walker Jenkins.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Here's a screenshot of said episode. I chose this one
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: deliberately because our faces look fantastic. Tyler looks fine. The
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: rest of us do not. But you might notice the headline,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Should the Twins Be Worried About Walker Jenkins' Struggles? Felt
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: like a legitimate question at the time. Just been a
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: horrible start, hitting under 100. And on Thursday in Anaheim,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Walker Jenkins promptly said, worry about this. With a three
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: for four day, two singles, and most notably a two
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: run homer in the top of the ninth off an
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: actual pitcher this time to tie the game. Twins obviously
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: lost in extra innings late Thursday night, but that's sort
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: of secondary at this point with the season all but
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: officially over. A huge moment for Jenkins. Obviously, he had
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: struggled mightily. We were laughing weeks ago when he hit
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: that homer off Zach McKinstry, the position player for the Tigers.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: And so was he, so was the team. Like, oh,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: you know, like a weird way to get your first one,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: but it's the first of many. There's going to be
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: a ton more. And in the time since, it was
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: looking like, well, I don't know, maybe not so much, Dan.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Maybe no more.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but to not only hit one off of actual
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: pitcher in a game– But to do it in that
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: spot with the game on the line to give his
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: team a chance to win, you couldn't ask for a
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: better breakout than that.
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: His confidence, I know I went on about it the
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: other day, really stood out. Just the fact that he
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: thought he was going to solve it, that he knew
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: he was going to solve it, that it was just
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: a blip.
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: On the radar.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: I mean, look, I can't emphasize enough that he went
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: out of his way to talk to us. He didn't
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: duck it. He knew what questions were coming. There were
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: about seven questions. He stood there and answered each one.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: He had humor about it when he talked about his
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: slow starts at every level. And then he didn't play.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: That was Tuesday morning or Tuesday afternoon, right? There was
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: a lefty. Freed was on the mound.
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: He didn't play that game.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: Then Rodon was on the mound Wednesday. He didn't play
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: in that game. Even though it went 13 innings, he
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: didn't play in that game. And so his first chance
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: to kind of show up and– prove or back what
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: he was talking about. You know, he came out with
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: a rocket hit off the third baseman glove into shallow
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: left in his first at bat. He had another single
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: where he pulled it to right center in his next
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: at bat. And then he launched a monster game tying
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: home run off a pitcher who has not given up
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: a home run all season to send the game into extras.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: And I don't know a better way to come out
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: and show that yeah this is just this is just
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: a thing i'm gonna get through it than that and
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: i guarantee you everybody in that clubhouse is fired up
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: for him because they know how much work like this
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: is this is a guy who is all baseball.
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: And he is uh.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Dedicated and believes in himself and wants to be the
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: guy and wants to be a guy for the franchise
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: and where he ranks, we're talking about a potential, one
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: of those, those guys, when you're a top 15, top
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: 20 prospect, uh, and he's been higher than that before
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: some of the injuries, when you're up there, you're viewed
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: by scouts as having that potential. And so this moment
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: more than any, and we've seen it from Cole pepper
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: and we've seen it from, uh, Emmanuel Rodriguez, that 19
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: at bat, just coming through in that situation, um, Each
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: of them did that. I think Emmanuel Rodriguez did it.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: It was the Friday loss against Cleveland at home. He
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: had an eighth inning, two out, RBI single game tying
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: off Hunter Gattis, who was nasty and hard to face.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: And then Emmanuel Rodriguez had the early single against Max
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: Freed and had a great game against Max Freed. We're
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: seeing these guys all have their moments. And for For
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: Walker Jenkins, he sorely needed this. He didn't know if
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: he was going to correct it before the season was over.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: He didn't care if he was going to correct it
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: before the season was over. It was just– it was
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: going to happen, and he wasn't worried about it. And
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: that's how they thought of it too. And, man, what
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: a way to come through. And even though it was
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: late night West Coast– and, by the way, good job
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: masking that– even though it was late night West Coast
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: and it masked– good job masking.
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: The 82 losses, the guaranteed losing season.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: Uh, guys, um, that, uh, no, the, uh, you know,
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: I mean, even though those factors were there, it was just,
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: it was a great moment in a, in another, you know,
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: disappointing game, but a very, very big moment for him.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: A couple of those losses are under protest in my book.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: There's still a chance, still a.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: Chance, but no, um, the.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: The, the game had followed a familiar pattern, a terrible
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: first inning. We'll talk about more about that later with
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Taj Bradley. Um, twins couldn't get anything going offensively. And
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: then not only did he have the homer to tie
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: in the ninth, but he started it in the eighth
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: to come back with a single to center to lead
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: off that inning and then scored the first run of
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: the game on a, on a Brooksley sacrifice fly. And Tyler,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: like obviously the team's slide from contention is not his fault,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: but he arrived right around the time that it was
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: fully going downhill and wasn't helping at all. And you know,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: when you're, when you're 21 and a rookie, obviously there's
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: no reason to like give up or anything like that,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: but it has to be tough walking into the major
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: league clubhouse, being anointed as the future of the franchise,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: struggling like that. Like I can't imagine, but that must've
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: been just a huge load off his shoulders to have
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: that run last night.
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: No, it's, I mean, obviously I was never like regarded
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: anywhere remotely as high as him, but it's, there's a pressure.
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: It's like, you come up, And, you know, it's the
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: saying is always, you know, it's still baseball. It's the
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: same game, but it's tough that, and making that adjustment
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: is the hardest part of telling yourself to just relax.
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: It's just baseball. Do what you've been doing all along.
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: You know, the stuff might be better, things like that.
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: You know, he took, hit that homer off with Joyce.
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: Like that's about as good as stuff as you're going
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: to see. And he turned it around and that's what
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: you want to see. His timing's there. The things are right.
• 6:39
  Speaker 5: It was just, you know, whether it was his legs or,
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: you know, he's still a little anxious, still a little nervous.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Maybe he's a little indecisive. Maybe he's trying to be
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: better at knowing the zone.
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: And he's, so he's given himself that little bit of
• 6:50
  Speaker 5: time extra and he's just late on stuff. Last night
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: was a great example of, I mean, he sprayed one
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: to left, he pulled one to right, he hit a
• 6:59
  Speaker 5: line drive to right center for a home run. Like that's,
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: that's three big league at bats that you want to
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: see from a guy that you're, you have really high
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: expectations of. And it's one, it's, it felt great. I
• 7:10
  Speaker 5: know he slept well last night. Um, you know, in
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: our heads, that's the guy we wanted to see the
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: day he got there. And that would have been incredible.
• 7:18
  Speaker 5: And it probably, to be honest, it probably changes the season.
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: Like if he shows up and does that in the
• 7:24
  Speaker 5: first week and gets rolling, you know.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: The twins are in a different spot.
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: And that just, I think that's credit to him of
• 7:30
  Speaker 5: how much he can change the game and, and why
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: he's here. You know, he's here to arguably replace Byron
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: for the time being while he's injured. and, and that,
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: you know, it's just great to see him settling into
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: that spot last night. Anyway, um, it gets two guys
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: with electric stuff. I mean, their starter, uh, was it
• 7:48
  Speaker 5: not arius? Um, it was just like, what are we like?
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: That guy was made in a lab. Um, you know,
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: so to get two hits leading up to that and then,
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: and then hit the Homer off of joy's uranium. Um,
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: You know, it was great to see. And I know,
• 8:03
  Speaker 5: like Dan said, too, everyone was fired up for him.
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: That's one of those games. You get three hits in
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: any game.
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: In the big league.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: So that's a big night.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: The thing I liked also was all three hits were velocity.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: And that's something that he had struggled with. And we
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: noticed that. I think that's probably what stood out the
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: most was, you know, he was clearly just in awe of, like,
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: sliders there in 92 catching the outside part of the zone.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: You know, backdoor sliders at plant. And it's like, those
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: pitches didn't land in the, in AAA. Right.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: And, and I think then knowing that that he had
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: to be looking for that, he just was late on
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: fastballs constantly in that one for 33. And, you know,
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: like this is a guy that does not strike out
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: a ton and he struck out 15 times in those.
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: It was probably 37.
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: I think he walked three or four times in that span,
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: but 15 and 37 plate appearances, something like that. He
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: just didn't catch up to fastballs, and he can hit
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: and murder fastballs. And the first one, the single, the
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: one like you described, the spray, I.
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: Think it was 98, 97.8. The second one was 94. Yeah.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: The next one was like an exit velocity of 90,
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: and it was off a 95-mile-an-hour fastball.
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: Um, and then the last one, you know, that fastball
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: was incredible. Was it one Oh one? Uh, yeah. Um,
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: and nitro zone. Yeah. Just crushed it. So that's a,
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: that's a really good sign.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: When he spoke the other night, he made a point
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: of mentioning all the full counts he had worked, um,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: you know, during his, his struggles. Like, is it like,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: I'm not getting blown away. I'm, I'm close. Um, His
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: three hits last night, the singles were on a 1-0
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: pitch and a first pitch, and the home run was
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: on a 1-0 pitch. So he decided to say, maybe he's.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Adjusting a little bit.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: F the full counts, I'm going for it.
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: Joe, forever, the story goes, it was an all-star game,
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: I think, and he was always passive and took pitches forever.
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: He'd work the 3-2, and then he goes to the
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: all-star game. I think it was Danny Salazar. No, it
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: was coming out of the all-star break. Danny Salazar throws
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: like 96 middle-middle, and he takes them oppo to left field,
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: first pitch of the at-bat.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: And we're all like, what are we? He's been setting
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: them up for years for that one right there.
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: No one ever thought Joe's going to swing, and he's like,
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: I know I'm getting a middle-middle heater right here, and
• 10:32
  Speaker 5: he didn't miss it. Last night was great, like Dan said, too.
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: The turnaround velo, that means you're on time. That's all
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: you can ask for.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Just one game, of course, but one of the big
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: things we talked about that we're watching the rest of
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: the way as these games themselves are meaningless for the
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: standings is how are the rookies going to do? And
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: will Walker Jenkins straighten himself out as good a start
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: as he and the twins could have asked for, for sure. Uh,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: thanks for listening. If you like what you hear, please
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: toss us a like, a subscribe, however you watch or listen.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: If you're on YouTube, there is a QR code on
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: the screen right now to make it super easy for you.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Also from Thursday, we'll talk a little bit about Wednesday's, uh,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: wild win over the Yankees. Of course, that's the game
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: they win that goes 13 innings. Crazy. But first, from
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Thursday night, Taj Bradley was absolutely fantastic, Dan, except for
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: the first inning, which it turns out has been a
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: real problem for him. Tyler, did you call up that stat?
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Do you have it up?
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Dan had it.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: I know it was 6-6-6-3. I know it's a 6-6-6-3.
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: 6.62 in the first inning this year.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Close enough. Anyway, terrible ERA. Taj Bradley has had a
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: recurring problem of the first inning being nasty for him.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Gave up all three runs in the first inning yesterday
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: and then was just awesome through seven. Dan, do we
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: need to use an opener on Taj Bradley days? What
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: do we do?
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: It is funny.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: It is funny because for his career, he has a
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: 5.42 ERA in the first inning. But that problem seems to,
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: that's 103 games. That's 103 innings. And that's 62 earned
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: runs so far. I guess that's a good sign that
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: he has not been pulled in one of the, like
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: in that first inning, he's made it through all 60
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: or through all 103. They've never been like, oh, we
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: got to pull him.
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: But this year, like it's, it's an issue.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: I mean, there's no question. It's a little bit of a,
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: something that they need to figure out. I don't know, like,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: what you can do to replicate the energy. But it's
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: clear that he finds another gear after that and gets
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: pissed and goes. Because, look, when it's 3-0 in the
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: first inning. So I'm at a concert last night, and
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: you guys are watching the game. And, like, Duff reacts.
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: And he's like, oh, man. And I, oh, darn.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: I look, and I'm like, oh, it's 3-0 first inning.
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: And I looked and it was Taj Bradley. And like
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: it didn't shock me that that was the outcome. But
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: then you look later and it's through seven innings and
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: there's nine strikeouts and it's three runs. And there's two
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: things about that. And it's funny because Pete Mackey and
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: I just had a conversation about Zebby Matthews.
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: With that, which is, yes, it sucks.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: It sucks to put your team in the hole like
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: that in the first inning. but the game is about
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: figuring out how to work around that and go deep
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: into games. And man, for Taj Bradley to keep it
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: at that three and that's all you're getting, you know,
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: you got me, but that's all you're getting. That is
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: a really, a big sign of maturity for him. He's,
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: you know, this is something he's dealt with constantly. And
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: like I said, this year, he is, you know, in
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: the first inning, it's not even like, I'm looking at
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: the numbers. It's not even like guys are really crushing.
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, actually, never mind. They are.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: He's got 777 OPS in the first inning. Six home
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: runs in the first inning. And this is a guy
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: that on the season has allowed a total of … Yeah,
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: that was the stat I saw. The six homers and
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: a few doubles, triples mixed in.
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: It's just a strange … And Trout, he goes 0-2
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: on Trout.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: And then was like trying to punch him out, trying
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: to punch him out. And he threw it to the
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: spot where you don't throw baseball. So Mike Trout that
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: middle down and he absolutely laced one.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: And it's just like, or no, did he end up
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: walking him? That was later in the game. Yeah.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: Ballesteros.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: He walked him in the first.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: Ripped. Yeah.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: So yeah.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: That would be something.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: I played, I was with him. I was an eye
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: cub with him.
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: Um, Yeah.
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: It's just, it's a weird, cause he's so electric, man.
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: And like you said, he gets, he gets stronger as
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: the game goes. So it really, it's like, like I
• 15:02
  Speaker 5: said before, you know, the Roger Clemens quote, he's, you know,
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: said it all the time, you know, just throw an
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: extra 30 in the bullpen, just like simulate an inning. Like,
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: you know, I know they said they ramped up his,
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: his effort levels to finish his pens, but like maybe
• 15:17
  Speaker 5: sit down and like throw 15 and then go to
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: the dugout. Like, Because whatever it is, we need to
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: change up the juju. Maybe walk a different route or something.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Maybe just blindfold him and then tell him it's the
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: second inning when he goes out to start the game.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: We're losing 1-0.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: It's the second.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: Do you guys remember Vegas Vacation? One of the worst
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: of the vacation movies. And Clark loses all his money
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: at the tables. And the one dealer who's, man, I
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: can't remember that guy's name, but he's in Princess Bride.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: He was like, hey, why don't we make a deal?
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: Give me half your money. We'll go out in the alley.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: I'll kick you in the nuts, and we'll call it
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: a day. Maybe they should kick him in the nuts
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: and get him mad.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Do something.
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: I've seen guys rub red hot down there.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Take your mind off the inning somehow.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: I mean, because look at what he's doing overall. He
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: right now needs one strikeout for 200. That will be
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: a career high for him. Yep.
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: His innings is a career high, 172 and a third.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: His ERA is 381. His FIP is in line with that.
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: It's 386.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: But, like, he has put together a dominant season. He
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: has been so consistent. And this is the one downside.
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: But he's 11 and 6. He's a four-war player on
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: baseball reference, which doesn't usually credit pitchers as well. So
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: he's easily, like, he's been their best performer. Across the board.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: With the team awards, I like breaking it up. I
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: like finding an MVP and a pitcher of the year,
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: but he easily could be the team MVP.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: I'm not going to do that because I want to.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: Break up the awards. By the way, this is just
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: advertising too. Next Friday, we are going to do our
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: team awards. The panel, the expert panel is going to
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: get together and vote. And we're going to announce our
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: team MVP, our pitcher of the year, our rookie of
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: the year, maybe most improved, something like that.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: But, you know, people will be in the mood for it,
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: but we'll do it.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: Well, you got to talk about something. But anyways, you know,
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: we're looking at this team and it's like, look how
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: good he is. I mean, he's just been amazing. It's
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: just this one thing is so crazy. And he knows
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: it and they know it and they're trying to diagnose it.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: But, you know, Who knows?
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Seven innings pitched, five hits and a walk, four of
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: the hits and the walk all in the first inning.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: And I kind of wish you had been there last night, Dan,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: because you probably would have trolled everybody by tweeting that
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: just dryly Tosh Bradley strikes out the side in the
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: first inning. Cause he did.
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: That is my favorite tweet, but it was.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Indicative of the rest of the game. I mean, they,
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: they had, they had literally one base runner and the
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: next six innings off of him. And, you know, I mean,
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: you give up three runs in seven innings, you give
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: your team a chance to win. It's, it's a weird
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: way to get there to give them all up in
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: the first start.
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: Exactly. Exactly.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: And they almost did. Thanks to Walker Jenkins.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: He knew Walker Jenkins was going to hit the home run.
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: He said he wanted to set the stage for it.
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: Taj Bradley. That's right.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Just, he's got a flair for the dramatic, the cinematic
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: there in the greater LA area. Um, A pitcher who
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: didn't fare so well and hasn't fared so well recently,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: who we haven't talked about a whole lot, is Yondris Gomez.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: So it's his turn for the reverse jinx. We did
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: it for Walker Jenkins on Wednesday. We talked about his struggles.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: And look what happened. So now we're doing it for Gomez.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: But he obviously came over from the Rays. Why am
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: I forgetting? A trade? Cash consideration?
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a claim.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yep. In his first 44 games with the Twins....
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: A 1.85 ERA 19 saves without any blown saves looked
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: like what a bargain, what a fine. It still does,
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: but the last nine games have not been so good.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: An 11.74 ERA, two saves, and also his first two
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: blown saves of the year for the Twins, and they
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: were the last two games. He also gave up three
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: runs against the Guardians in that game that was 2-2
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: late and ended up costing him that one. So not
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: a blown save, of course, but it was sort of
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: I guess the beginning of... It foreshadows what Lone Sage
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: is to come, I guess. And Dan, we've seen it
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: with other players this year, but has he just hit
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: the wall?
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: I think that's a lot of what this is.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: Look, it's... not the most innings he's ever pitched in
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: a season because I'm sure he was a starter in
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: the minors. But he's around 63 innings this year right now.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: And yeah, it looks like he has, oh, actually, 83
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: innings is the most he's ever pitched in a season.
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: So we're getting up there on that. But the thing is,
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: is it the extended use it's extended use into September.
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: And I think the way.
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: We've seen it most is this is a guy who
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: always does struggle with command, right? He, he walks guys.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: It's something we've become accustomed to. Um, but I think
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: not only is he walking guys, he's getting into a
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: lot more hitters counts right now. And it just seems
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: like they're punishing him when he, you know, he, he
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: gets full there on trout and, uh, Was it Neto
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: that won the game?
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: I'm struggling to remember who won the game.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: No, it was a lefty, a pinch hitter.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: It was a Meckler.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: Meckler. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. I mean, he just got
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: himself one.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: First of all, anybody that gets out of the Manfred runner,
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: the inherited runner, that's going.
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: To be a blown save often. Yeah, the Manfred man.
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: You really want to score two runs when you're on
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: the road and give your relief pitcher a real chance.
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Um, and, and they didn't do that.
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: They only get the one and it's like, you could
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: kind of see it coming and he's just getting into
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: long innings.
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: Um, a lot of deep counts. The stuff is still good.
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: It's just, he is not committed. It's the way he
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: was earlier.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: Stuff's bouncing and you know, carrot, carrot team.
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: Is working back there.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: It's just a lot.
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: So you look at it and like you, it just
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: seems like a guy that's tired and it's unfortunate because
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: this has been, a great season for him and what
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: a find. And I, and who knows if he's the
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: closer next year, it wouldn't shock me if Jeff Hoffman's
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: the closer, but Yohanders Gomez will be in leverage spots
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: and they will use him because they love that four seam.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: Sweeper combo.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: Like it is nasty. He just, he just nails it.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: Like he's got such good stuff. They saw characteristics that
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: they like. I Duff, I know, you know, this as
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: someone who, went from force or two seam down in
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: the zone to, Hey, let's run that fastball up high
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: and blow it by guys. Like they, they do this with,
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: with pitchers and yo, Andrews had a really good run.
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: And now we hit the wall. It's like Andrew Morris.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: It's like Griffin jacks, every converted starter. It seems like
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: they go through this. His just happened at the end.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: And, you know, he's going to wear it.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: Because it's happened while they're collapsing. But the fact is
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: there's a lot more things collapsing than yo, Andrews Gomez.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: Yo, Andrews Gomez is just, part of this issue like
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: and it's a small part because.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: The life of early in their games yeah when it.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Comes to pitchers tyler do you i mean obviously i
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: guess every case is different but is this just a
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: natural product of trying to throw a baseball as hard
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: as you can for six months is it a conditioning issue.
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah and and in today's game especially like it's just
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: you're as soon as you get on that mound you're
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: full throttle and i've talked about this a couple times
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: like it's it's hard one, guys aren't learning as well
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: how to throttle back a little bit to, you know, groove,
• 23:04
  Speaker 5: you know, because the old 00 fastball or the 30
• 23:07
  Speaker 5: fastball isn't a thing anymore, because guys are getting off
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: their A swing every time they swing a bat, and so, like,
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: if you miss anywhere, you get punished, and so it's
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: such a double-edged sword, like, you know, a guy like
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: him who's got some control issues at times to, like, hey,
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: dial it back and just throw one in there, well,
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: then you give up the homer, especially in the ninth inning,
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: you have no room for that, and so He's had
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: a great run for us. He was nails for five months,
• 23:35
  Speaker 5: and he's finally hit his little rough patch. They traded
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: for Hoffman.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: Like Dan said, he'll probably be the closer next year
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: in Hoffman.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: But when you.
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: Make moves and you've got a guy like Gomez that's
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: locked in like he was, you don't move him out
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: of the role just because you've got a new player.
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: I think that would have sent the wrong message. You
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: had to ride the hot hand, and he's been great
• 23:59
  Speaker 5: all year. And it's unfortunate that it's happened when it did.
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: But at the same time, the experience that he got
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: this year and ultimately for what they got him for,
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: that's a.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Huge piece going into next season. He's going to have
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: all this experience.
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: Under his belt.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: And then you have the ability.
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: Hey, Hoffman's down a day. Well, we got Gomez who
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: can close the game. You've got pieces. All these guys
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: have developed so much this year. And it's going to
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: be great. situation for next year because you're going to
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: have a lot of pieces that are ready to to
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: make that long run they've had the experience this year
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: getting the full season on their belts as relievers or
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: back end guys you know all those things it matters
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: and um you know it's it's uh it's a great
• 24:44
  Speaker 5: thing to see it's unfortunate for him to have a
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: rough patch now but i think he'll be just.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: Fine 62 games real quick 62 games for him this
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: season um combined between tampa and minnesota Before this, the
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: most games he'd ever pitched in a season was 23.
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: The inning total.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: Like I said, a couple years ago, there was an
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: 83 attached to the 21-start seed or whatever. But that's
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: every four or five days. That's with time off. This
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: is getting the body up and throwing 97, 99. And
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: throwing the ninth.
• 25:16
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: This is getting out there and playing catch every day
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: with the expectation of you're checking your arm to see
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: if you're good to go that day or not. So
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: this is different, and I know it takes a toll
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: on guys the first time they go through it, and
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: they all benefit from it. But even like even Louis Varlin,
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: we're seeing it right now. Louis Varlin of Toronto has
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: kind of hit a wall again because they asked him
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: to throw 800 times this year, and he's thrown, you know,
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: and he's done it every time. And yet, like when
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: it's been in September, he's hit a wall a little
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: bit himself with some tough luck and some losses late
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: in the season.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: It just happens when you're a converted starter and you
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: haven't done it for a long time.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Don't mention Louis Varland on this podcast. Duck dance.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: Isn't he from Minnesota?
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: I think I've heard that. I've heard that, but I'm
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: still trying to verify it.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Bring him back, free agent.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Speaking of next year, we'll have plenty of time, as
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: we've mentioned, to talk about next year. in later shows.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: But another thing that happened since we last talked to you,
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: Zebby Matthews had maybe his best start.
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: Of the year.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Six innings, two hits allowed, no runs, eight strikeouts, and
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: two walks against the Yankees. The Twins ultimately lost the
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: game in 13, but going back six, eight, 10 starts,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: however far you want to go back, his ERA now
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: is in the threes. Ever since that he got crushed
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: in that Cubs game back in mid-July, he's been really
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: solid for the Twins. And guys, I think, assuming everybody's healthy,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: the top three of the rotation next year are pretty
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: well set with Pablo, Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley. But then
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: after that, there's four guys that have a shot in
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: that mix, and Zebby is certainly showing the Twins why
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: he should be one of them, Dan.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: It's funny because he had that great August, and then
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: he came back out and had a couple duds in September,
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: and it's.
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: Like, Oh, man, Zevi, where'd you go?
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: But you mentioned 10 starts and 390 ERA since the
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: Wrigley one, but that includes the two blow-up losses against
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: the White Sox in Detroit. And it's funny because after
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: the White Sox in Detroit, he was down after the
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: Detroit one. And then he throws away, he did the
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: other day, and it's like, just when you think it's over,
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: just when you think it's over, he pulls you back in.
• 27:37
  Speaker 4: And it was great. He was efficient.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: He dominated that Yankee lineup. He had eight strikeouts, six innings.
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: He deserved a victory. Gomez actually blew the save that day.
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: Would have got him a victory. But I understand why
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: people think, hey, let's see what he would look like
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: in the bullpen because he's thrown 97 as a starter,
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: so it probably means 100 in the bullpen.
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: But he is– it's in there. You can see it.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: And if he can find a way to be a
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: 3-9 ERA kind of starter– you're taking that because he's
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: going to go six, seven innings every time.
• 28:16
  Speaker 4: Like this is just how he's built. He's a, I
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: think you described it Zach the other day. He's a horse.
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: He is a big dude.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: You just feel good watching him walk out to the mound.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: It's a stupid, like doesn't matter. I know plenty of
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: pitchers have been good, but like, it just like, I
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: don't know. Like he's a guy I would like to
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: play behind. Just, he just has the look to him,
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: you know?
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: No, And he fills it up.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: Like he throws strikes.
• 28:42
  Speaker 4: He's got the stuff.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Like I, and I, to Dan's point that, you know,
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: everybody's like, Oh, what about the bullpen?
• 28:48
  Speaker 5: It's like, do you not go look up every hall
• 28:51
  Speaker 5: of fame pitcher ever? They, someone had a bad first
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: year it's or whatever. They had rough patches and you've,
• 28:58
  Speaker 5: you got to learn yourself. And, and he's a perfect example.
• 29:01
  Speaker 5: Like he's gotten some opportunities. This is like his first,
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: like full look at a big league season and getting
• 29:08
  Speaker 5: that under him. And, you know, right now the 30
• 29:10
  Speaker 5: starts and all the, all the things that you have
• 29:12
  Speaker 5: to check off as a starter in the big leagues.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: And he's had his ups and downs.
• 29:16
  Speaker 5: Like I've talked about multiple times here, you're going to
• 29:18
  Speaker 5: have 10 really good ones where you're just dialed and
• 29:21
  Speaker 5: you're going to have 10 ones. And then 10 where
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: you've got to find a way to work. And he's
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: managed through some of those games. Like he's had a
• 29:29
  Speaker 5: few duds here and there, but otherwise he's been dependable
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: and you can't, that's hard to find. Sometimes he is
• 29:35
  Speaker 5: a guy you already have. He's under control. Like you
• 29:38
  Speaker 5: can't just cut bait on a guy like that. You know,
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: like Griffin Jax is one. He had his great run
• 29:43
  Speaker 5: in the bullpen, but I, they gave him, you know,
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: that little runway as a starter.
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: And then it was like, all right, go to the bullpen.
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: And you know, when sometimes you don't, it's better to
• 29:52
  Speaker 5: just keep the guy you have that's built up and
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: can do it versus trying to find a guy every
• 29:57
  Speaker 5: year over and over again and forcing it. Um, you know, I,
• 30:00
  Speaker 5: for me, he's a guy that makes too much sense
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: for him as a starter. He's got the pitches, he's
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: got the body for it. He's built like a workhorse. It's,
• 30:08
  Speaker 5: it's hard to find those guys. You know, you always
• 30:10
  Speaker 5: hear the, where's the next Verlander going to come from? Well,
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: sometimes you have it, you just don't let them work,
• 30:16
  Speaker 5: you know, and obviously, you know, that's saying a lot.
• 30:18
  Speaker 5: He's not going to be Verlander, but it's, you have
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: a guy who's dependable. He's going to throw 30 starts.
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: If he doesn't have a weird foot laceration wound, whatever
• 30:27
  Speaker 5: it was for, that month stretch, like he's probably at
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: a sub three. Like he literally, maybe he cruises through
• 30:33
  Speaker 5: all this, this half, like who knows? And so for me,
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: it's one, he's the guy, I think you write them
• 30:39
  Speaker 5: in pen somewhere in that rotation.
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: He's got some weird numbers. I'll say this last year.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: It's okay. So 2025, he made 16 starts. He had
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: a five 56 CRA, but he walked more guys and
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: he didn't give up as many home runs last year.
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: This year he's sacrificed– he's cut down on the walks,
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: but he's allowing more homers.
• 31:02
  Speaker 4: And he's got the– let me look at it real quick.
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: He's got the 474 ERA and he's got a four– well,
• 31:10
  Speaker 3: this is the crazy part.
• 31:11
  Speaker 4: He has a 480.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: Burt Blylevin did give up homers. He gave up a
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: lot of them.
• 31:17
  Speaker 4: Hall of Famer Burt Blylevin.
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: But he– it's weird that like Zebby has shown a
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: lot of growth And yet his fit is up a
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: whole point from last year. So it means like technically
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: the team behind him is about what they are. And
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: last year it's clear that the team behind him, he
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: didn't benefit from last year. The defense was, you know,
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: not that the defense has been way better this year,
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: but it has definitely solidified on the infield.
• 31:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah. It's not sure as atrocious this year. It's, it's
• 31:48
  Speaker 4: not as much of a problem.
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: I think there's something like, um, He's going to have
• 31:53
  Speaker 3: to keep adjusting. I mean, this is a guy who's
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: trying to make sure, like he's always tried to make
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: sure his misses were good misses instead of bad misses.
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: And I think we've seen him throw too many fastballs
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: right down the middle and those get hit and like
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: pitches in bad locations. He's got to get that ironed out,
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: but there's certainly the stuff there.
• 32:14
  Speaker 4: The goods are there.
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, we're talking about, you know, a guy who's
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: 26 and, like it's certainly too early and, and you
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: have service time to work with here because remember he
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: didn't even make the opening day roster. He started in
• 32:27
  Speaker 3: the minors and he came in with one year of
• 32:29
  Speaker 3: service time. So he's going to be less than two
• 32:31
  Speaker 3: years of service time. When this is over, you still
• 32:34
  Speaker 3: have four years of him and I'd be willing to
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: bet at least take another shot.
• 32:38
  Speaker 4: It's funny. They're, they're not, there was all this.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: Talk back then that got moved Louie to the bullpen.
• 32:43
  Speaker 4: You have to move Louie to the bullpen.
• 32:45
  Speaker 3: And they couldn't get away from keeping him in the
• 32:47
  Speaker 3: rotation and, because they absolutely needed the starter depth. And
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: with the guys coming back next year, they have Kramer.
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: They have Ober right now. They're going to have to
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: figure some things out clearly, but they have Pablo.
• 33:01
  Speaker 4: They have Bradley. They have Abel.
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: There's going to be somebody booted out of that rotation,
• 33:07
  Speaker 3: but I just don't think they're in the same exact
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: spot they were a couple years ago where they were needing–
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: that Louis Varlin and couldn't bring him to the bullpen.
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: I don't want them to move him to the bullpen yet.
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: I'd like to see more before they make the call
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: here because there has been some serious growth and his
• 33:24
  Speaker 3: slider is, it's a bullet slider.
• 33:26
  Speaker 4: It's a nasty pitch.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: They've won 15 games since the start of August and
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: Zebby Matthews started six of those.
• 33:35
  Speaker 4: There you go.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: He was 5-0 in the month of August.
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: Stopper.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: At least the Milwaukee game was credit to the offense.
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: He did allow six runs in that game. But still,
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: he's been by far the most likely to give them
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: a win. The next highest total is Taj with three.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: We'll see. We'll talk more about that for sure in
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: the offseason. Last update before we leave you. Right after
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: we talked about Kalen Culpepper's injury on Wednesday, the Twins
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: announced he was headed to the injured list. Dan wrote
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: about that recently. on the athletic, as you can see there.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: But at this point in the season, injury-less stint can
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: often mean that's all. But Dan, they're hoping to bring
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: him back, it sounds like?
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there were 12 days left in the season when
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: they put him on the IL for 10 days. And
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: the hope is, it seems so crazy because it's usually.
• 34:27
  Speaker 4: Like, shut him down. We're done. It's over. Don't risk anything.
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: But they really have emphasized this is a mild hamstring
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: strain and that he is going to be okay. And
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: that realistically had this been in July and there was
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: a day off, they probably could have sat him for
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: three days and he'd be fine, but they're going to
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: just make sure everything is good and give him 10
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: days with the idea that they want him back for
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: those last two. Derek Shelton talked about it saying like, Hey,
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: there's some benefit to coming back and returning and showing
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: you can do that before the season's out. And he
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: wants him to do that. So yeah, Kalen Culpepper, it
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: seemed like at first, oh man, this is devastating. This
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: is season over. But with it being mild and they
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: had an MRI, so they know it's not that serious.
• 35:16
  Speaker 4: It's not a grade one. It's not a grade two.
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: They know he's going to be okay and they want
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: him to come back, which is great because Kalen Culpepper
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: deserves to have that last couple days to finish off
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: what's been such a great season for him. By the way,
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: it resulted in Ben Ross getting the start the other day.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 35:35
  Speaker 4: And Ben Ross got his.
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: First major league hit.
• 35:39
  Speaker 4: Got his first major league hit Thursday. Was that Thursday?
• 35:44
  Speaker 4: It was Wednesday.
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: His first major league hit Wednesday and his next one yesterday.
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: So congrats to him for getting that. We'll just go
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: with twins, Tyler. We're twins.
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: I should have worn mine.
• 35:58
  Speaker 4: It was dirty.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: I definitely did not have it on earlier and then
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: change when Dan was wearing the same shirt.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: Were you eating a ham and egg sandwich in it
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: and spilled?
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: No.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I really got to get back to that. Those
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: were delicious. Not a lot of baseball left. Nine games
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: to go. The Twins have three more in Anaheim this weekend.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: Night starts the next two nights, 8.38 Central Time. Connor
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: Prelip and Grayson Rodriguez tonight. Schedule Saturday, Joe Ryan against
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: Reed Detmers. And Sunday is a 3-0-7 start. Dean Kramer.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: Ryan Johnson. Then they're off to San Francisco, home against Texas,
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: and that's at the elimination number, down to three in
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: the wild card, two in the central. It is possible
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: that by the time we talk to you on Monday,
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: it is officially all over for the Twins, but we
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: shall see what we see over the weekend. If you
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: like what you hear, please toss us a like or
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: a subscribe, however you watch or listen. If you're on
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: YouTube right now, there's a QR code on the screen
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: to make it super easy for you guys. Appreciate You
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: all listening, and we will see you Monday on Twin
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: Cities Territory. Have a good weekend.
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: Bye-bye.