#2015asg

[twins2994]

Trout Wins 2nd MVP As AL Wins!

American League 6 National League 3 W-Price L-Kershaw

Mike Trout is becoming the face of baseball after having three and a half fantastic seasons. He won the American League MVP and All-Star Game MVP last year and tried for another MVP award tonight. Trout started the scoring tonight when he drilled a Zack Greinke fastball to deep right field. The ball barely carried over for a home run and the American League took a 1-0 lead. Johnny Peralta knotted the game up with a Texas League single to right. Paul Goldschmidt, who was on third base scored and the score was tied at one. Neither side would score until the fifth when Prince Fielder delivered an RBI single to left off Clayton Kershaw. Mike Trout scored from second on the play and the AL led 2-1. The next batter, Lorenzo Cain knocked a Kershaw pitch down the left field line for a double. Albert Pujols scored on the double to put the American League ahead 3-1. Jacob deGrom struck out the side in the top of the sixth and the momentum shifted to the NL side. Andrew McCutchen rode that wave and hammered a Chris Archer pitch out to left field for a solo shot. This put the NL within a run after six frames. The American League would respond right away as Mike Trout led-off the seventh with a walk. Pinch-runner Brock Holt stole second base and Manny Machado drove him in with a double to center. Prince Fielder hit a flyball to center and Machado tagged up to score from third. The two-run seventh put the American League up 5-2. Brian Dozier tacked on one more as he poked a Mark Melancon fastball out to deep left-center field. The ball carried over the wall for a solo homer and gave the AL a 6-2 advantage. Glen Perkins came on for the ninth and Ryan Braun led-off with a triple down the right field line. Brandon Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to left and the NL was within two. Perkins got Kris Bryant to fly out to right and Joe Panik to flyout to left to end the game in Cincinnati. It was the third consecutive victory for the American League in this event.

-Final Thoughts- Two Twins played huge roles in tonight’s contest. Glen Perkins threw the final inning and allowed one run on one hit with three flyball outs. He threw nine pitches and seven for strikes in his third straight All-Star Game. Brian Dozier hit a solo homer in his lone at-bat. It was a wall-scraper to left-center off of Mark Melancon. Lorenzo Cain led the AL with two hits and Prince Fielder had two RBI’s. Jacob deGrom and Aroldis Chapman each struck out the side in an inning. The AL hit 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Clayton Kershaw was roughed up as he was charged with two runs on three hits in an inning of work. Francisco Rodriguez gave up two runs on a hit in the seventh frame. The American League gets home field advantage once more in the World Series this October. Next year, the game will be played in San Diego at Petco Park.

-Chris Kreibich-

[twins2994]

American League @ National League 7.14.15

American League Lineup National League Lineup

1.) Mike Trout CF           1.) Andrew McCutchen CF

2.) Josh Donaldson 3B   2.) Todd Frazier 3B

3.) Albert Pujols 1B        3.) Bryce Harper RF

4.) Nelson Cruz DH       4.) Paul Goldschmidt 1B

5.) Lorenzo Cain RF     5.) Buster Posey C

6.) Adam Jones LF        6.) Anthony Rizzo DH

7.) Salvador Perez C      7.) Jhonny Peralta SS

8.) Jose Altuve 2B         8.) Joc Pederson LF

9.) Alcides Escobar SS   9.) DJ LeMahieu 2B

SP Dallas Keuchel LHP  SP Zack Greinke RHP

(11-4) 2.23 ERA             (8-2) 1.39 ERA

(2015 Statistics)

2015 MLB All-Star Game

-Chris Kreibich-

[twins2994]

Frazier Steals Show In Derby.

Todd Frazier Defeats Joc Pederson 15-14 in Final Round

The Home Run Derby rules seem to change every year. MLB wants to tweak it or do something different to improve a nice hitting exhibition by these players. This year baseball got it right when they implemented timed rounds into the derby and the drama and excitement was at an all time high. There was another change to the format as the tournament featured a bracket style. The hitters were seeded 1 through 8 in tonight’s contest. In the quarterfinals, Josh Donaldson defeated Anthony Rizzo 9-8 and Joc Pederson got on a great roll to surpass Manny Machado. Todd Frazier ousted two-time champ Prince Fielder and the veteran Albert Pujols defeated the rookie Kris Bryant. The semifinals were awesome and featured some drama. Josh Donaldson finished with nine homers and hometown hero Todd Frazier stepped up to the plate. Frazier struggled early on as he could not seem to get on a roll. He finally did and hit ten out to move on to the finals for the second straight year. Joc Pederson sent twelve bombs into the seats in the other semifinal. Albert Pujols was slowly getting there when his top hand kept slipping off his bat. He had already used his timeout and fell to the rookie Pederson. Pujols hit just eleven and was eliminated. Joc Pederson was up first in the final and he got one a great roll. He started slow and then sent some bombs over the right field wall. Pederson piled up fourteen, which is a respectable number. The hometown hero had a chance, but Frazier had not hit more than fourteen in the two other rounds. Frazier got off to another slow start in the final. He heated up after his timeout midway through the round and started hitting balls out. He reached fourteen and just missed a few as the clock hit zero. Frazier had thirty seconds of bonus time and drilled the first pitch from his brother out to deep left field to clinch the Home Run Derby. The crowd went wild as their Cincinnati Red had won the derby at Great American Ballpark.

-Final Thoughts- I think the changes to the derby are great. The timed rounds led to more excitement and drama. Bonus time also helped out if a batter hit a homer to a certain distance. Joc Pederson was awesome tonight. He started slow in all three rounds, but would hit six or seven in a row out. He hit 40 home runs on the night. Todd Frazier had a great night in his home ballpark. He amassed 39 home runs in the contest. Frazier came close last year as he made it to the finals. He hit one dinger to beat out Giancarlo Stanton. Then he hit one more in the finals, but lost to Yoenis Cespedes, who had nine. Tomorrow will be the 86th All-Star Game. Dallas Keuchel will face Zack Greinke in the game from Cincinnati.

-Chris Kreibich-

[twins2994]

2015 Home Run Derby 7.13.15

#1 Albert Pujols 26 HR’s Vs. #8 Kris Bryant 12 HR’s

#2 Todd Frazier 25 HR’s Vs. #7 Prince Fielder 14 HR’s

#3 Josh Donaldson 21 HR’s Vs. #6 Anthony Rizzo 16 HR’s

#4 Joc Pederson 20 HR’s Vs. #5 Manny Machado 19 HR’s

-Chris Kreibich-

[twins2994]

USA Thumps World In Futures Game.

World 1 USA 10 W-Garrett L-Garcia

The USA has dominated the World over the past five years. The Americans have blown out the World in two of those games, but the other countries are improving very fast in the game of baseball. Today was the seventeenth addition of the Futures Game at Great American Ballpark. Ketel Marte started the scoring this afternoon when he took a pitch the other way into right field. Raimel Tapia scored from second on the single and the World scratched together the first run. J.P Crawford knotted the game up with an RBI single to center in the third. Kyle Schwarber continued the rally when he drilled a pitch into the right field corner. Two runs scored on the Schwarber double and the US took a 3-1 edge. Josh Bell added two more in the fourth as he hammered a Edwin Diaz fastball to right-center field. The ball carried out for a two-run homer and put the Americans up 5-1. Nick Williams tallied one more in the sixth when he singled to center. Kyle Waldrop beat the strong throw, which put the US ahead 6-1. Brandon Nimmo hit an RBI single to left and the rout was on. The US plated one more when Trea Turner ripped a ball down the left field line. Turner’s two-run double to left put the US ahead 10-1. The USA bullpen held their own and Colin Rea got the final two outs to secure the win for the Americans. 

-Final Thoughts- Jose Berrios started the game for the World for the second consecutive season. He threw one shutout inning and walked a guy. He did pick that guy off first base as he faced the minimum number of batters. The other Twin selected Max Kepler did not play with an injury to his shoulder. Kyle Schwarber won the game’s MVP with a two-run single in the third inning. He was playing near his hometown in Ohio. Josh Bell hit the lone home run in the game. It was a two-run shot and put the US up 5-1 at the time. The Royals had quite a few players in this game. Raul Mondesi Jr., Balbino Fuenmayor, and Cheslor Cuthbert. I can see Mondesi being a future second basemen for KC with Alcides Escobar at his natural position shortstop. The Americans have now won this event five consecutive times. Tomorrow is the Home Run Derby, which starts at 7 from Great American Ballpark. There are a few changes to the derby including timed rounds and I think the home runs carry over into the next rounds.

-Chris Kreibich-

[redarmyangels]

ITS GONE!! @miketrout WITH A LEADOFF HOMERUN BOMB IN #SouvenirCity #Cinccinati #2015ASG @pujolsfive @hecsantiago53 #GoTroutPujolsSantiago #LetsGoAmericanLeague #GoAngels #REDÅRMY

[redarmyangels]

Good Luck & CONGRATS TO @Angels @pujolsfive @miketrout @hecsantiago53 #RedReppin #Angels4Life in the #2015ASG HIT THE NL HARD & HECTOR STRIKE THEM OUT. #LetsGoAmericanLeague

[twins2994]

World @ USA (Futures Game) 7.12.15

Team World Lineup      Team USA Lineup

1.) Ketel Marte 2B       1.) Tony Kemp 2B

2.) Ozzie Albies SS      2.) J.P. Crawford SS

3.) Yorman Rodriguez RF 3.) Kyle Schwarber C

4.) Balbino Fuenmayor 1B 4.) Richie Shaffer 3B

5.) Gary Sanchez C         5.) Kyle Waldrop RF

6.) Renato Nunez 3B       6.) Aaron Judge DH

7.) Manuel Margot CF      7.) Josh Bell 1B

8.) Nomar Mazara DH      8.) Michael Conforto LF

9.) Raimel Tapia LF          9.) Bradley Zimmer CF

SP Jose Berrios RHP       SP Lucas Giolito RHP

(8-3) 3.55 ERA                (3-4) 2.76 ERA

(2015 MILB Statistics)

World Pitching Order: Jarlin Garcia LHP, Edwin Diaz RHP, Wei-Chieh Huang RHP, Jairo Labourt LHP, Keury Mella RHP, Frankie Montas RHP, Joe Jimenez RHP, Juan Gonzalez RHP, Luis Perdomo RHP.

USA Pitching Order: Amir Garrett LHP, Tyler Beede RHP, Mark Appel RHP, Blake Snell LHP, Sean Newcomb LHP, Carl Edwards Jr. RHP, Zach Davies RHP, Colin Rea RHP, Aaron Nola RHP (Nola will not pitch)

2015 Futures Game

-Chris Kreibich-