Alex Kirillov He was the No. 6 batter in Tuesday night's game against the Twins, the lowest slot he's been in the starting lineup all season. That's not surprising considering he's been 1-for-16 at bat over the past seven games.And the man who created the lineup card rocco baldelli.
The Twins manager typically writes out the day's lineup the night before a game, looking at a set of statistics about each player and each opposing pitcher. And that system generally creates a batting order that is unique to that day and game.
In fact, Tuesday's lineup was the 34th different order Baldelli has utilized in the 35 games the Twins have played. That may seem like a lot, but it's actually been Baldelli's pattern since taking over as manager in 2019. He used 145 batting orders in his first season and has increased that number every full season since, totaling 156 unique batting orders in 162 games last season. .
“We don't really have a choice at this point,” Baldelli said, citing the Twins' injury history and their desire to keep most of their players active. “Over the last few years, we haven't been able to put together what many think is the ideal offensive lineup. We've been able to deal with that pretty well. … We have a lot of guys that are getting the job done. ”
But wouldn't he prefer to use nine regular players and utilize more set lineups?
“It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Baldelli said, downplaying that possibility in the mindset of finding an advantage today. “I'm not chasing it in any way shape or form. I don't mind creating it.” [lineup] And we'll slap them to death with 300 home runs, and I'll sit back and slap everyone with five. That's fine. And if they have to use every player every night and pinch hit more than any other team in the league, that's fine too. ”
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Additionally, he said it's rewarding to find the exact right combination of players in the best possible order.
“I like thinking about the game,” Baldelli said. “Yes, I'm having fun working on it.” [various ideas] Trying to find a way to win. i enjoy it. ”
Kepler and Polanco reunited
The 2024 season will be the first since 2011. max kepler and Jorge Polanco It meant a lot to the Twins outfielder to see his former roommate return to Target Field since they are no longer teammates.
“I'm going to miss him a lot. I told him that,” said Kepler, who played with Polanco on six different minor league teams. “It reminds me of my childhood, when we first started [rookie-level Gulf Coast League]. Having friends makes the game much easier. ”
But friendship has its limits. When Polanco took the lead in the ninth inning Monday, he hit a long fly that tipped the foul. Had this smash been fair, the Twins' lead would have been cut to one point.
“I just hope it doesn't go my way today,” Kepler said. “As a brother, I'm happy for him to be successful for the rest of his career, but it's different when it's against our team. It's a little weird in between.”
etc.
* Kepler hit a double in the third inning on Tuesday, extending his hitting streak to nine games, one game shy of his career-high 10 games set in 2019. Kepler, who was 1-for-20 at bat since coming off the disabled list on April 22, had a hit in 13 of the 14 games he played during the injury season and entered Tuesday's game with a batting average of .439 (41 at-bats). He recorded 18 hits) and 7 extra-base hits.
* The Toledo Mud Hens gave up five earned runs in 11/3 innings to starting pitcher Joe Gunkel, and the St. Paul Saints lost 7-5 at Fifth Third Field. Dashawn Kersey Jr. became the second Saints player in franchise history to hit two home runs with Toledo.