Rockies 3, Twins 2: Playoff ready

And just like that, its time for playoff baseball. The Twins will face a team that isn’t the Yankees, for the first time in eleventy-billion years. Before they could move onto the postseason though, they had to get through one more regular-season adventure, and visit the Rockies at altitude.

The Twins put up both runs in a string of second inning singles. Max Kepler started with an infield grounder, followed by Ryan Jeffers. Eduoard Julien plated Kep, and then, following a strikeout by Willi Castro, Alex Kirilloff brought in Cheese Curd Jeffers. Connor Seabold, the bulk guy in the opener strategy, gave up both runs.

Colorado’s first run came from Nolan Jones, as the contender for “most Utah name in baseball” hit a solo dinger in the fourth. Tall drink of water Bailey Ober pitched 6.2 innings and struck out nine Rox, with only the solo homer and one other hit given up.

So the game continued until the eighth. Jorge Alcala gave up Colorado’s second run of the game, on a second solo shot, this one by Sean Walter Bernard Bouchard. With a name like that, he should be from Louisiana, but alas, he’s actually from San Diego. Alcala came back out for the ninth, and worked himself into and out of a jam, which led to Bonus Baseball (and the Manfred Man, which by the way, isn’t a thing in the playoffs. The way that God and Al Spalding intended baseball to be.)

In “things that are less good than they sound” Kody Funderburk worked his way out of a first-and-third in the tenth. Fun fact: a few years ago in an offseason sim, he was my contribution to a three-way trade of “players with fun names.” I brought him up only to mention that factoid. The Twins loaded the bases in the 11th, and didn’t score, because I always somehow volunteer to recap games that just won’t end. The Rockies finally gave us a merciful end in the bottom of the inning though, with Brenton Doyle stealing third and then scoring on a wild pitch. I’m not even sad.

The Twins move on to host a wild card game, against the AL’s sixth seed on Tuesday. While they somehow dodge the Yankees (hahaha silly no-playoff losers,) the Twins do draw an AL East foe, the Toronto Blue Jays. Ultimately today’s game was meaningless, but it would have been nice to enter the playoffs on a win.

Studs

Everyone who joined us at Twinkie Town this season
Bailey Ober

Duds

No Duds! Twins win the division!

COTG

Inthebasenent for going Twinkie Town after Dark while the sun was still up.