Game 155: Twins at Red Sox

09/21/2024 03:00 PM

Would you look at that? It's another must-win game.

First Pitch: 3:10 pm CDT

TV: Bally Sports North / ~ / Radio: TIBN

The time for dense analysis has come and gone. The time for vibes has arrived.

With the team clawing their way to the finish line, now alone in third by a game again, and STILL somehow just a game behind Kansas City's slot as Wild Card #2, a 12-inning dogfight is the latest mile marker of the team's two-month trial. Everyone's rocked, pooped, and cooked — maybe just another Saturday afternoon for you, sure, but for the Twins, it's a poorly timed bullpen slog during an already tough stretch.

For that reason, and many more that I'll reveal if you subscribe to my Patreon, it's nice to have Pablo Lopez on the mound today. Tonight making his 63rd regular-season start for Minnesota, Lopez will hope to pay tribute to those numbers by throwing six innings, and then three more innings, also.

Lopez, as we know, has been dialing in at the right time. With his season statistics now much more in line with last year's Twins debut, Lopez is heading into a prospective postseason run with a 2.11 ERA/3.12 FIP in his last 76.2 innings (12 starts), striking out 71 batters and allowing six homers.

He already beat Boston at Target Field on May 4th, holding the club to one run across six innings during the inaugural Pablo Day.

He'll be backed up by... uh, somebody, with most of the bullpen sitting between 20-40 pitches across the last three calendar days. Cole Irvin didn't throw yesterday, and Scott Blewett only tossed 12 pitches, so look to them as go-to options over other well-spent arms who have been throwing on multiple consecutive days out of pure necessity.

As a reinforcement going forward, the team has recalled lefty Brent Headrick and sent Ronny Henriquez packing for the time being.

The forecast, which dipped into a bit of a drizzle last night, isn't looking spectacular for this afternoon's contest, meaning Rocco Baldelli has probably been weighing whether he wants to avoid a doubleheader more than he wants the team to be off on both Saturday AND Monday heading into the last homestand of the year.

I leave you with this.

GO TWINS GO!!!