Week 11 - May 27th – IA Find in Cuba and Second Road Series Starts with Twins
Jason McLeod arrived home hours after leaving Cuba on the team jet, where he found some interesting prospects, though the only one worth mentioning was Omar Vazquez, a 16-year-old third baseman born in Caibarién. Vazquez could struggle to make contact, has little power, seldom walks, and has been assigned to the international complex. I hope this isn’t the best Cuba has to offer for the MLB. Maybe he’s a diamond in the rough. We’ll see.
Nelson Velazquez was taken off the restricted list and sent to Omaha until our return home from this road trip.
The Minnesota Twins, our next opponent in an upcoming 4-game series, play their games in Target Field, which can be described as a neutral park. The building seats 39021 fans. Going 30-23 so far this year, the Twins have compiled a .566 winning percentage. They are leading the Central Division. Their number of runs scored of 283 ranks 3rd in the American League, and their .262 batting average ranks 3rd. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 217 runs (2nd) with their starters compiling an ERA of 3.75, which ranks 2nd. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 3.88, ranking 8th. When playing against our Royals this season, they have a record of 1 win and 2 losses.
Here are the projected pitching matchups:
RHP M. Wacha (0-5, 4.76 ERA) vs RHP D. Festa (0-1, 3.18 ERA)
RHP B. Singer (1-5, 5.43 ERA) vs RHP S. Woods Richardson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP C. Ragans (4-2, 2.48 ERA) vs RHP P. Lopez (5-4, 3.33 ERA)
RHP C. Hernandez (1-2, 5.97 ERA) vs RHP L. Varland (2-3, 6.21 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. CF Byron Buxton (Age: 30, Overall: 80, Potential: 80)
2. CL Jhoan Duran (26, 70, 70)
3. SP Pablo Lopez (28, 70, 70)
4. SS Carlos Correa (29, 65, 65)
5. SP Chris Paddack (28, 65, 65)
Game Summary – May 27th – Festa Now 1-1 After Subduing Royals
Minnesota used a superb performance from starting pitcher David Festa to down the Kansas City Royals, 6-0. Minnesota goes to 31-23. The win puts them 5½ games up in their division. In his 86-pitch effort, Festa allowed no runs on 1 hit over 7 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 5.
"What's not to like about a win?" said Festa.
Our pitching failed us once again tonight from the early outset. Wacha did not earn his paycheck and has not since he's been struggling in his last 3 starts. About the only positive thing to take from tonight is our bullpen kept it from getting much worse.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: David Festa
Ballpark: Target Field
Weather: Cloudy (63 degrees), wind blowing out to the right at 12 mph
Start Time: 1:10 PM CT
Time: 2:59
Attendance: 35347