Game 119: Twins at Brewers

First Pitch: 7:10p Central
Television: FOX Sports North; fubo.tv (subscription)
Radio (English, no Danny Gladden): W-C-C-O 8-3-0 A-M, Treasure Island Baseball Network
Radio (español, también no señor Gladden): twinsbeisbol.com
Know Thine Enemy: Brew Crew Ball

Back when the Metrodome existed (R.I.P. in peace), my family went to a game when the Milwaukee Brewers were in town. Lyle Overbay was playing for the Brew Crew and, as usual, many Brewers fans travelled to the Dome to support their home team. We were sitting somewhere in left-center field and Overbay comes up to bat and a few guys in a section next to us and a few rows up stood up and took their shirts off, revealing O in blue painted on their chests. They put their arms up in the air to make a big O and then started shouting “OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” for Overbay like one of those vuvuzelas at a soccer match. Needless to say, they got the boot.

Your first-place-in-the-American-League-Wild-Card-race Minnesota Twins are now 0.5 games behind the Cleveland team for the A.L. Central. Day off and the sort, Bob’s your uncle. The Bomba Squad looks to get back into the swing of things against the Milwaukee Brewers, who sit 2.5 games back from the National League Central lead and a half-game back from the second N.L. Wild Card spot. Who’s hungrier for a playoff spot?

The Brew Crew will send right-hander and generic name connoisseur Chase Anderson to the mound tonight. He was out of the bullpen for his first five appearances this year; his last 18 showings have been starts. Altogether on the season, he’s pitched 99.2 innings of 3.70 ERA ball with an FIP of 4.33. His per-9 metrics are about league-average across the board and not too flashy. He’ll throw a four-seam fastball that tops at about 95 miles-per-hour and a circle-change-up in the low 80s. He’ll also mix in a cutter (high 80s to low 90s), a curve (high-70s), and a sinker (low-90s) like he’s a worker at Cold Stone Creamery.

The Twins will counter with south-paw “boy wonder no longer?” Martín Pérez. His last start was the rubber match against the Atlanta Braves, where he went six innings (yay!) but gave up 11 hits, six earned runs, two walks, and three homers. (Not yay.) I really want to say something positive about Pérez, so he’s gone five innings or more nine of his last eleven starts. So there. montanatwinsfan linked to a FanGraphs article about the rise and fall of Pérez’s cutter here in the comments of a post earlier today and it’s worth a read. (Thanks montanatwinsfan!)

TRIVIA: Who was the most recent Twins pitcher that got his first major-league hit in his first-major league at-bat in Milwaukee? (No peeking!)

GO TWIMS GO