Minnesota Twins Daily Dip: May 11, 2018, taking stock of the standings
By Nate Palmer
Minnesota Twins Daily Dip, May 11, 2018. A place to catch up on the news, notes, and happenings throughout the Twins system.
Welcome Minnesota Twins fans to the May 11th edition of the daily dip, your daily piece of news and notes here on Puckett’s Pond. You’ll find the scores and a quick summary of every level of the Twins organization and links to any information you need to know to follow the Minnesota Twins here every morning!
We’ll start with the news and notes portions and work our way through each level of the system!
News and Notes
- Byron Buxton off the DL, Ryan LaMarre sent to Rochester
- Zack Granite and Jake Reed off the DL at Triple-A
Minnesota Twins 4, Los Angeles Angels 7
The Twins dropped the first game of an important four-game series 7-4. It was clear the home plate umpire wasn’t giving starter Jose Berrios any breaks. That combined with Berrios already not being very sharp and hanging two curveballs that went for home runs and an early the Angels lead. The Twins did come back to tie the game in the 6th inning off a Brian Dozier 3-run home run and a Max Kepler solo shot. Dozier went 4-for-4 on the night with a double in addition to his home run.
May 11th Probable Starter: Lance Lynn vs. Tyler Skaggs 9:07 PM CT
Rochester Red Wings Postponed due to Rain
The Rochester Red Wings were not able to play their game Thursday and will instead pay a doubleheader on Friday against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
May 9th Probable Starter: Zack Littell (Game 1) and Stephen Gonsalves (Game 2) vs Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at 4:35 PM CT
Jackson Generals 0, Chattanooga Lookouts 3
As they win the ninth game in their last ten played, the Lookouts defeat Jackson 3-0. A lot of credit goes to Randy LeBlanc who went 7.0 innings allowing six hits and no runs while striking out eight batters. LeBlanc is now 5-1 on the season with a 2.23 ERA. LaMonte Wade was 2-for-4 with a walk. Nick Gordon was 1-for-2 with a run, double, and two walks. Brian Navarreto was 3-for-4 as he hit a solo home run for the Lookouts third run of the night.
May 11th Probable Starter: Anthony Marzi vs. Jackson Generals at 6:15 PM CT
More from Puckett's Pond
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- Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ Joey Gallo signing
Fort Myers Miracle 6, Dunedin Blue Jays 8
The Miracle got off to a good start scoring four runs in the first but the Blue Jays would march back to win 8-6. Mark Contreras went 2-for-4 with a triple and a double and a run scored. Jimmy Kerrigan was also 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double.
May 11th Probable Starter: Charlie Barnes vs. Dunedin Blue jays at 6:00 PM CT
Cedar Rapids Kernels 0, Bowling Green 4
The Kernels didn’t have much of anything positive going for them as they dropped their game with Bowling Green 4-0. As a team, they only recorded two hits. One of those hits was an Alex Kirilloff triple as he extended his extra-base hitting streak to 10 games. Moises Gomez did come in at the end of the game to pitch 2.1 innings allowing a hit, a walk, and one strikeout.
May 11th Probable Starter: Blayne Enlow vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods @ 6:00 PM CT
Minor League Pitcher/Hitter Of The Day
Pitcher: Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga- 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
Hitter: Mark Contreras, Fort Myers – 2-4, R, 2B, 3B
Next: Should the Twins trade for Manny Machado
Early Pressure in the Standings
It is May 11th and generally way too early to start looking at the standings. As the Twins take on the Angels who are also trying to claim one of those American League playoff spots it seems it is worth taking stock of just where the Twins stand. After last night’s loss, the Twins are now a game and a half back of the Indians for the division lead. A spread that is easy to cover unless the struggling Indians go on another historic winning stretch like 2017.
Grimmer is the state of the Wild Card race. The Twins are currently six games back of a Wild Card spot. There are also four teams between them and that final spot for that one game playoff. As we said, too early to make any real judgements based on the standings, but the Twins also need to win some games against an Angels team that they are looking up at in the standings currently.