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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 6:33:23 GMT -5
Twins eye 13th straight win in series finale vs. Red Sox FLM
The Minnesota Twins are the hottest team in the majors and will attempt to extend their winning streak to 13 games on Sunday when they wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox in Minneapolis.
The Twins opened the series with a 5-2 victory on Friday and earned a 3-1 win on Saturday.
Minnesota's 12-game run is tied for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. The Twins also won 12 in a row in 1980. Minnesota won 15 consecutive games during the 1991 season.
Pablo Lopez struck out eight in six innings to earn the win on Saturday and keep the streak alive.
"It's a good amount of pressure in a good way," Lopez said. "It's just one of those things, you don't want to let (the winning streak) consume you. No one wants to be the guy that makes the streak stop in any way, shape or form, but I think ... I took advantage of the momentum -- the good thing that we have going on and I kind of let it take over me and then just let things flow, let things happen natural on the mound, just competing.
"I know the guys are playing great ball, offense, defense -- they're gonna make the plays for me. They're gonna make things happen. It was just a matter of being comfortable on the mound. Being confident."
Boston enters Sunday's matchup on a three-game losing streak. The Red Sox have been held to four runs across those three setbacks after scoring 32 in their previous four games.
"It seems like right now, it feels like their attack has been fastball-heavy. That's a team that spins the ball a lot," Boston manager Alex Cora said of the Twins. "It's all about scouting reports and adjustments. So far, in two games, they have the edge.
"We know the offense is going to wake up. We're going to score runs. It just happens that we lost the first two."
Sunday's pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers in Boston's Cooper Criswell (2-1, 1.65 ERA) and Minnesota's Joe Ryan (1-1, 3.38).
Criswell was sharp in his last outing, tossing five scoreless innings to earn the win in a 4-0 victory over the Giants on Tuesday. He limited San Francisco to two hits, walked one and struck out four.
Criswell's only career appearance against Minnesota came last season when he played for the Rays. He faced 14 batters in relief and gave up one hit, walked two, hit a batter and struck out four across 3 1/3 innings in Tampa Bay's 2-1 victory. Criswell did not factor into the decision.
Ryan has a 3-1 record and a 3.12 ERA in four career starts against Boston. He logged a shutout in a 6-0 victory over the Red Sox last season.
Ryan pitched six innings during Minnesota's 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out three but did not get the win, as the Twins broke a 2-2 tie by scoring in the ninth.
"He's tough against us," Cora said of Ryan. "Bunt first and second, safety squeeze or whatever to scratch a few (runs across), and hopefully (Criswell) can go deep into the game and help us win a game."
--Field Level Media Red Sox at Twins Sunday, at 2:10 PM EST Clear It's expected to be 64° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 5 MPH wind blowing out in Minneapolis at 2:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Sunny skies and comfortable temperatures are expected for Sunday afternoon's game at Target Field. Light winds blowing out to left field will improve home run chances slightly in that direction.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 7:23:37 GMT -5
Did Red Sox sort of steal a pitcher from Rays and ‘strike him with gold?’
Updated: May. 05, 2024, 7:39 a.m.|Published: May. 05, 2024, 7:21 a.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Rays have done it countless times with pitchers they have acquired via minor trades, waiver claims or cheap free agent deals.
“I feel like everyone would always say that — when you go to the Rays you just get struck by gold,” Red Sox starter Cooper Criswell said Friday here at Target Field.
The Rays have done it with multiple Red Sox pitchers in recent years. They acquired Jeffrey Springs in a trade with Boston in February 2021 after the lefty posted a 7.08 ERA in 16 outings during the shortened 2020 season. Springs, who’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery right now, has a 2.53 ERA in 78 outings with the Rays. He has a 2.43 ERA in 28 starts (125 innings, 37 runs).
Then there’s Zack Littell who made two relief appearances for the Red Sox in 2023 before they designated him for assignment. The Rays selected him off waivers from Boston and he has a 3.64 ERA in 33 outings (21 starts) for Tampa in 2023-24. He has a 3.00 ERA in seven starts this season.
But with Criswell, the Red Sox might have done the opposite by signing a pitcher who the Rays let go and striking him with some of their new Craig Breslow/Andrew Bailey gold. Tampa designated Criswell for assignment last Nov. 14, then the Sox signed him to a one-year, $1 million contract Dec. 13.
Criswell — who will start for Boston against the Twins here at Target Field on Sunday — has allowed just three earned runs in 16 ⅓ innings (1.65 ERA) in four outings (three starts) for Boston.
Criswell, who posted a 5.45 ERA in 36 ⅓ innings with Tampa, was impressed with the plan that pitching coach Andrew Bailey laid out during free agent conversations. It included helping him increase his velocity.
“Just talking with Bails about the velo program and trying to improve the cutter and things like that, those are the things that really sold me,” Criswell said. “I feel like for the most part, we’ve been doing pretty well with those things.”
Manager Alex Cora said in April, “We do believe we can help him with the velocity. If we can accomplish that, then we’ve got the whole package.”
Criswell’s sinker has been his most used pitch this season. He has thrown it 30.4% of the time. Opponents are 1-for-7 (.143) with a single against it.
It has been an effective pitch at an average velocity of 88.9 mph this season, although the goal is to increase its speed. Criswell said the sinker plays well when he’s locating all four of his pitches.
“Location-wise on righties, just trying to get it in if we’re going in to get some ground balls,” he said. “And then maybe try to freeze them 0-2, 1-2 with the sinker away. And then to lefties, I try to use the cutter and changeup mainly. But using the sinker to make those pitches work as well.”
The Red Sox are having Criswell train with weighted balls to help increase velocity.
“The weighted ball program that Bailey put together, just trying to stay active on that,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll see trends throughout the year. Obviously last outing it (velocity) was down a little bit but the previous few it was up from last year. Just trying to continue to stay the course with the program.”
He said it’s also important to watch video to monitor his mechanics.
“Like staying in my legs more or staying closed a little bit longer,” Criswell said. “Things like that just to maybe help with velocity.”
The Red Sox have helped Criswell to change his cutter grip and usage. He threw it 57 times to right-handed batters and 42 times to left-handed batters in 2023. But he has thrown his cutter only against left-handed batters this year.
“Similar to the sinker, I feel like it’s not overpowering,” he said about the cutter. “So obviously I feel like the location makes it that much more important. And the shape of the pitch — getting it to cut some, which this year has been way more consistent than the previous years. So just trying to continue to do that in bullpens and things. And obviously seeing it in the game as well. But mainly if you don’t have the velo, you’ve got to focus in on the rotation and hitting your spots.”
Criswell has thrown 88 sinkers, 81 sweepers, 69 changeups and 51 cutters in his four outings combined.
“I would say that (sweeper) and my sinker have been the two main pitches I’ve had pretty much from junior college to UNC,” he said. “And then the changeup and cutter have really come along since professional.” F Criswell has always had excellent command. He averaged 2.1 walks per nine innings in the minors. He has averaged 2.5 walks per nine innings in the big leagues.
He said the Red Sox have encouraged him “to throw his best stuff in the zone.” He said the Rays also preached throwing strikes.
“I think that’s the thing I do well,” he said. “Their pitching philosophies are similar. I would say I’m throwing a few more offspeed here.”
Criswell began the season at Triple-A Worcester after missing out on the fifth rotation spot. The Red Sox considered carrying him as a reliever but they wanted to keep him stretched out as a starter in case of injuries. So they sent him to Worcester to start.
“Obviously it’s tough. You want to make the Opening Day roster,” he said. “But you’ve just gotta understand your role on each and every team. And accept that role.”
Starters Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello all ended up on the IL during April.
“When your number is called, just go out there and perform to the best of your ability. Stay ready,” Criswell said. “You never know when things are going to happen. So I’ve just really tried to focus in on that. And at the end of the day, you’re here to play baseball for a living. So you can’t complain too much.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 12:05:55 GMT -5
Game 35: Red Sox at Twins lineups and notesBy Amin Touri Globe Staff,Updated May 5, 2024, 1 hour ago The Red Sox have hit a bit of a snag, following up a four-game winning streak at home with a three-game skid that leaves them on the brink of a sweep at the hands of the Twins, who have now won 12 games in a row. Cooper Criswell will look to stop the bleeding as he takes the ball for Sunday’s finale. The righthander has been excellent, notching back-to-back scoreless outings of five innings apiece to beat the Guardians and Giants. The Twins will counter with Joe Ryan, who has given Minnesota’s bullpen a rest by pitching at least into the sixth inning in each of his six starts this season. Lineups RED SOX (18-16): Duran CF, Devers DH, Refsnyder LF, Abreu RF, Grissom 2B, Smith 1B, McGuire C, Rafaela SS, Short 3B Pitching: RHP Cooper Criswell (2-1, 1.65 ERA) TWINS (19-13): Kirilloff LF, Julien 2B, Jeffers C, Kepler RF, Correa SS, Larnach DH, Castro CF, Santana 1B, Miranda 3B Pitching: RHP Joe Ryan (1-1, 3.38 ERA) Time: 2:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Red Sox vs. Ryan: Rafael Devers 2-12, Jarren Duran 1-6, David Hamilton 1-3, Reese McGuire 1-3, Tyler O’Neill 1-2, Connor Wong 0-3 Twins vs. Criswell: Willi Castro 0-2, Carlos Correa 0-2, Ryan Jeffers 1-1, Max Kepler 0-1, Alex Kirilloff 0-1, Trevor Larnach 0-1 Stat of the day: Minnesota’s 12-game run is tied for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, second only to a 15-win streak in 1991. Notes: Criswell’s only career appearance against Minnesota came last season when he played for the Rays. He faced 14 batters in relief and gave up one hit, walked two, hit a batter and struck out four across 3 ⅓ innings in Tampa Bay’s 2-1 victory. Ryan has a 3-1 record and a 3.12 ERA in four career starts against Boston. He logged a shutout in a 6-0 victory over the Red Sox last season. ... The Red Sox have been held to four runs across those three setbacks after scoring 32 in their previous four games. “It seems like right now, it feels like their attack has been fastball-heavy. That’s a team that spins the ball a lot,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of the Twins. “It’s all about scouting reports and adjustments. So far, in two games, they have the edge. We know the offense is going to wake up. We’re going to score runs. It just happens that we lost the first two.” Song of the Day: Queen "Radio Ga Ga" www.youtube.com/watch?v=azdwsXLmrHE
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 12:11:19 GMT -5
Gabrielle Starr @gfstarr1 Alex Cora says Kutter Crawford will start Tuesday in Atlanta and “if all goes well” it’ll be Nick Pivetta on Wednesday against…….. Chris Sale.
Cora said today is just a good day to have Devers DH, and he’ll be back at 3B on Tuesday in Atlanta.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 12:13:24 GMT -5
Christopher Smith @smittyonmlb Garett Whitlock is feeling good after his bullpen yesterday. Day of next bullpen TBD. Brayan Bello is scheduled to throw 4 innings in his rehab start for Portland on Tuesday.
Just a maintenance day for Tyler O'Neill
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 13:42:07 GMT -5
Few things early Criswell working a bit of magic to get out of the 2nd but holding his own If Ryan has an early reservation for dinner tonight he will likely make it The Twin home jerseys this week-end are sharp.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 13:46:16 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe Angel Hernandez has the plate today.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 13:54:04 GMT -5
Criswell could not sneak that sausage by Jeffers and he whacked it into the LF stands
Twins up 1-0 in the 3rd
Pilot should get the plane fueled up.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 14:00:14 GMT -5
Duran gets on with a easy 2B to start the 4th Devers pushes him to first Refsyder with a hustle 2B ties the game.....
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 14:26:54 GMT -5
Reese McGuire steals 3rd, called out replay was clearly safe and indeed was Rafaela smacks a 2 run tater
3-1 Red Sox
First dinger hit by Boston since April 27th
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 14:31:03 GMT -5
Refsynder out of the game in the 5th Hamilton now into SS Rafaela moves out to the OF Twins broadcast does not know why then again, they do announce every 5 minutes that Mauer's HOF day is coming up later this summer.
Criswell was replaced by Bernardino who got the last 2 outs
Criswell Like 4.1/ 5/1/1/1bb/5k/ 80-51
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 14:49:19 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe Refsnyder left the game with a tight left hamstring. 4:45 PM · May 5, 2024 · 876 Views
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 15:52:48 GMT -5
That 2 run ding dong by Devers was a nice blast Sox opened it up late 9-2 very late
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 5, 2024 17:53:29 GMT -5
Folks really buzzing about the Twins is all good and all. BUT a good chunk of this roll they are on were against the White Sox.... I use to try to explain this to the FOM, but they never understood the ties between scheduling and records. They would lose their their $chitt over 5-5 records on the west coast trips. The Twins just finished 10 games with 7 v the WS and 3 more against the LAA. They did what they had to do, but that's a good way to get healthy.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 5, 2024 18:08:42 GMT -5
Rafaela and Devers homer as Red Sox beat Twins 9-2 to end Minnesota's 12-game winning streak AP
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Ceddanne Rafaela hit the first Red Sox home run in seven games, Rafael Devers added another, and Boston ended Minnesota’s 12-game winning streak by beating the Twins 9-2 on Sunday.
Vaughn Grissom and Dominic Smith had two-run doubles, and Boston ended a three-game slide in which it scored just four runs.
“Losing two out of three here (stinks), but winning this one is very gratifying. It took a total team effort,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
Ryan Jeffers homered and Trevor Larnach had an RBI single for Minnesota.
The Twins' 12-game winning streak was tied for the second-longest in team history behind a 15-win run in June 1991, the last season Minnesota won the World Series.
“It did feel like every time an opportunity arose in the past 12 games, it felt like we were always coming through,” said Carlos Correa. “Today was just one of the days that we’re not able to do that. But at the same time, looking at the big picture, it’s been a couple of good weeks. We’ve just got to keep going. It’s a fun team.”
With one out in the fifth, Rafaela hit a full count offering from Joe Ryan into the first row of the left center field seats for a two-run home run and a 3-1 lead. Rafaela hit the team’s previous round-tripper in last Saturday’s 17-0 win over the Cubs.
“I was just focusing to hit the ball and then good things happen,” said Rafaela, who played some old-school pepper before the game with hitting coach Pete Fatse to better get the barrel on the ball.
“He’s such a good athlete that he will,” Cora said.
Grissom had a two-run double for a 5-1 eighth-inning lead. Smith, the next batter, added a two-run double with the ball going off the glove of Manuel Margot who was battling the sun on a cloudless 69-degree afternoon.
It was Grissom’s first hit with Boston. Acquired in the offseason Chris Sale trade with Atlanta, Grissom started the year on the injured list and made his team debut Friday.
Devers hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
Boston starter Cooper Criswell, who threw five shutout innings in each of his last two starts, allowed one earned run and struck out five in 4 1/3 innings, but needed 80 pitches to do so.
Brennan Bernardino (1-1), the first of five Red Sox relievers, earned the win.
Tossing his team-high fifth quality start of the season, Ryan (1-2) allowed four hits and three earned runs while striking out five.
With the season’s second-largest home crowd of 29,638 in attendance, Jeffers hit a solo home run in the third inning for a 1-0 lead, a frame after Minnesota had a golden opportunity for some early damage.
Max Kepler, Correa and Larnach each singled to start the Minnesota second, but Criswell struck out Willi Castro and Carlos Santana before Jose Miranda hit a harmless bouncer back to Criswell.
“There are moments where if you’re able to do something, they really are tipping points, turning points. We’ve been doing it, today we just didn’t do it,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: LF Rob Refsnyder left the game in the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness. Cora said he doesn’t think it will result in a stint on the injured list.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Kutter Crawford (2-1, 1.56 ERA) gets the start Tuesday in Atlanta. The Braves plan to start RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 1.50).
Twins: Start a four-game home series Monday with the Mariners. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.45) is the scheduled Twins starter against Seattle RHP Luis Castillo (3-4, 3.46).
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