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These guys. Again.
At seven games over .500, the Twins are just a game behind the Yankees for the top wild card spot. Given the resurgence of Byron Buxton, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that the Twins might host a playoff game.
Game times and matchups are as follows:
- Friday, September 1, 7:10 PM CDT - Jason Hammel versus Dillon Gee
- Saturday, September 2, 6:10 PM CDT - TBD versus Kyle Gibson
- Sunday, September 3, 1:10 PM CDT - TBD versus Ervin Santana
Royals at Twins pitching matchups
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
| Jason Hammel | 26 | 149.1 | 116 | 17.8 | 41 | 6.3 | 4.76 | 4.47 | 5.00 | 4.72 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Dillon Gee | 6 | 22.2 | 21 | 23.3 | 3 | 3.3 | 3.18 | 3.53 | 4.34 | 3.68 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| TBD | ||||||||||||
| Kyle Gibson | 23 | 122.1 | 90 | 16.3 | 52 | 9.4 | 5.59 | 5.05 | 4.56 | 4.87 | 0.6 | -0.3 |
| TBD | ||||||||||||
| Ervin Santana | 27 | 176.0 | 146 | 20.2 | 57 | 7.9 | 3.27 | 4.57 | 4.72 | 4.57 | 2.4 | 3.9 |
If the Royals weren’t playing musical chairs with their rotation, the pitchers the Twins are throwing out there could play into the Royals’ favor. Old friend Dillon Gee makes his third start for Minnesota. He’s looked good in a small sample, but no one has any illusions about him being anything other than a back-of-the-rotation guy. Kyle Gibson is still not good, so he’ll probably give the Royals nightmares. Only Ervin Santana has been particularly good. Of course, the Royals are throwing out Jason Hammel and guys of Eric Skoglund’s or Onelki Garcia’s ilk. Hammel’s been fine, but for a scuffling team, this is not how you’d like to face a team who you could conceivably gain ground on in a playoff race.
Minnesota Twins position players
| Player | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
| Brian Dozier | 2B | 578 | 26 | 75 | 74 | 14 | .263 | .349 | .475 | .349 | 115 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| Byron Buxton | CF | 402 | 13 | 52 | 38 | 24 | .249 | .310 | .401 | .306 | 86 | 2.8 | 4.4 |
| Miguel Sanó | 3B* | 475 | 28 | 75 | 77 | 0 | .267 | .356 | .514 | .365 | 126 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Eddie Rosario (L) | LF | 468 | 20 | 64 | 58 | 5 | .292 | .331 | .502 | .349 | 116 | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| Joe Mauer (L) | 1B | 478 | 6 | 56 | 52 | 2 | .296 | .379 | .406 | .344 | 112 | 1.8 | 2.6 |
| Max Kepler (L) | RF | 482 | 17 | 59 | 59 | 5 | .247 | .315 | .435 | .320 | 96 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| Jason Castro (L) | C* | 342 | 7 | 40 | 36 | 0 | .229 | .327 | .370 | .307 | 87 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Jorge Polanco (S) | SS | 417 | 9 | 47 | 54 | 10 | .255 | .303 | .405 | .301 | 83 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Chris Gimenez | C | 184 | 6 | 19 | 14 | 1 | .208 | .330 | .370 | .311 | 89 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Eduardo Escobar (S) | IF | 375 | 12 | 40 | 48 | 4 | .251 | .313 | .398 | .304 | 85 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Ehire Adrianza (S) | Util | 138 | 1 | 17 | 20 | 8 | .265 | .328 | .376 | .300 | 82 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Robbie Grossman (S) | OF* | 380 | 7 | 50 | 35 | 2 | .243 | .367 | .363 | .328 | 101 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Kennys Vargas (S) | DH | 221 | 9 | 29 | 34 | 0 | .246 | .303 | .429 | .311 | 89 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Mitch Garver | C | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .400 | .524 | .389 | 143 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Zack Granite (L) | OF | 76 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | .246 | .316 | .275 | .269 | 61 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| *denotes injured |
It took a while, but Byron Buxton looks to have righted the ship in 2017. He’s been on fire, but right now he’s day-to-day with a right-hand contusion suffered while swinging awkwardly. While Buxton is day-to-day, Miguel Sanó, Robbie Grossman, and Jason Castro are on the mend on the DL. Castro could conceivably return at the end of the series, but an activation next week is more likely. As a unit the Twins are slashing .258/.333/.426 with a .326 wOBA and 99 wRC+. Their position players have been the 11th-best unit in baseball, worth 18.0 fWAR.
Poll
How will the Royals fare in Minnesota?
This poll is closed
-
12%
Royals sweep
(20 votes) -
16%
Royals take two of three
(26 votes) -
47%
Twins take two of three
(76 votes) -
23%
Twins sweep
(38 votes)
All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference through action on Wednesday, August 30.
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