A couple of leftover bits from yesterday's game.
I overlooked one stat that really reveals how much strike throwing Jose Berrios did on Saturday. He was 0-2 or 1-2 on hitters a whopping 18 times to the 27 batters he faced. That's an impressive 67 percent mark. That allowed him to use all of his pitches to finish off hitters, instead of falling into fastball counts.
I don't know how many cleanup hitters bunt, but Joe Mauer did yesterday and it came at a good time. The Twins had no hits against Mike Clevinger but Robbie Grossman and Miguel Sano each drew a walk to start the fourth inning. Mauer dropped a bunt to the left of home plate, which Clevinger fielded but threw wildly to first base, allowing a run to score.
Mauer's bunt unlocked the inning, and the Twins pushed home three runs to give Berrios a lead to work with.
Can the Twins pull off the sweep today? We'll see. Trevor Bauer has pitched well against the Twins in the past. Hector Santiago is 2-1 with a 2.70 in six games at Progressive Field.
Will Brandon Kintzler get a chance to save a game for a fourth straight day? It seemed doubtful after yesterday's game. But keep this in mind. Only three pitchers in Twins history have saved four games in four days, Joe Nathan (three times), Rick Aguilera and Jeff Reardon. Thanks, Phil...
UPDATE: Kintzler did play catch before the game, but Twins manager Paul Molitor is not going to overwork his closer.
Cleveland has made roster moves. Michael Martinez has been designated for assignment and Brandon Guyer (left wrist) has landed on the 10-day DL. Utility player Erik Gonzalez and outfielder Daniel Robertson have been called up. Robertson recently got healthy and was 7-for-15 at Columbus before being called up. He's in the lineup.
