The Minnesota Twins got a pointed message both publicly and privately from manager Rocco Baldelli following their sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
The Twins lost 3-0 to Atlanta, completing a three-game sweep which saw the team go 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position during the series. They struck out 14 times on Wednesday, eight of them against Braves starter Kolby Allard, who was making his first start in two years.
Baldelli closed the clubhouse for a meeting after the game, and told the media that Twins hitters “made no adjustments” and played bad baseball.
Rocco Baldelli: "We were flat and we made no adjustments really in the game almost whatsoever. If you’re going to call a spade a spade and say how it is, that’s not good baseball. … If I’m rolling that up and trying to portray it any other way, I’m lying." #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) June 28, 2023
The Twins’ pitch selection in terms of swings and takes left plenty to be desired. Most of Allard’s swings and misses were out of the strike zone, while Minnesota hitters took a wide array of pitches right over the plate.
Why did Rocco Baldelli go off on his #MNTwins team today? On the left is a chart of Kolby Allard's 14 swings and misses, eight of which were chases. On the right is a grouping of the 15 pitches they took for strikes, many of which were in the nitro zone. pic.twitter.com/Pu92i7N4VI
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) June 28, 2023
Wednesday’s loss dropped the Twins to 40-42 on the season, and while they lead the AL Central, that is entirely down to how poor the rest of the division is. The Twins have plenty of talent and, on paper, should be the favorites to win the division. That they are not running away with it is an indictment of their poor play. No wonder Baldelli has been so frustrated lately.
