MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Saturday, September 9, 2017

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MSF Daily: 9/9/17

Twins @ Royals in Game 2 of 4:

It’s been a good series, thus far, for the Twins in Kansas City. It isn’t over yet, and they are yet to win the series, since it is 4 games long.

But, the Twins were able to steal game 1 on Thursday, with a 9th inning comeback, and an impressive hitting display on Friday night powered them to win #2.

To say Eddie Rosario had a big night would be an understatement. Eddie was ON FIRE. What a year the guy has had. Rosario is the player I was picketing to trade before the deadline. When Zack Granite was hitting .832 or whatever in AAA, I was vying for the Twins to move Rosario. It wasn’t anything against him and I’ve always known Rosario is a solid player but we have depth in the OF and even more in the minors with the likes of Granite and Alex Kirilloff. The Twins STILL need pitching help.

Nonetheless, I am glad they didn’t make a move. What has changed since last year for Eddie Rosario? Aaron Gleeman has the answer for us. I found this chart from this article by Aaron Gleeman VERY interesting. Just swing at strikes Eddie.

Rosario’s Chase % since 2015:

  • 2015 – 47%
  • 2016 – 45%
  • 2017 April – 44%
  • 2017 May – 41%
  • 2017 June – 35%
  • 2017 July – 35%
  • 2017 August – 38%

Innings 1-3

It started early for Eddie, when he hit a SAC Fly in the 1st, to get the scoring started. Dozier scored off the fly ball out and the Twins were off to a good start.

But, Melky Cabrera would call Rosario’s SAC Fly with one of his own, and the game was tied before we got out of the 1st inning.

Dozier would single another run home in the 2nd. Then, Eddie came back to the plate in the 3rd:

3-1 Twins Lead

Innings 4-6

Rosario hitting again in the 4th inning with the bases loaded. After a 2-run single, this game looked like it was on its way to blowout.

Hosmer was able to tighten things slightly with his own bomb in the 4th but Eduardo Escobar matched that with one of his own in the 5th.

However, things got a little scary in the bottom half of the 5th of that inning. Whit Merrifield came to the plate and he had RBI’s on his mind with 2 guys on base. A double would score both and we had a game on our hands.

6-4 Twins Lead

Innings 7-9

An RBI single by Ramon Torres brought things to a 1-run margin and the Twin Cities was getting nervous as the Royals gained steam, 436 miles away, in Kansas City.

The 8th inning would help everyone breathe a little easier. Robbie Grossman tripled to score 1 run and a Mauer Single would score another. Mauer is looking like his old self at a very good time. I thought I would welcome him back last night:

FINAL: 8-5 Twins WIN

The Twins wouldn’t give up another run and have now taken the first 2 of 4 vs the Royals in this series. The Twins have also stretched the 2nd WC lead to 2 games, after our old friend Ricky Nolasco was beaten last night by Seattle.  Kansas City can’t afford to keep losing so expect them to come to play Saturday and Sunday. (MLB.com)

Lead Up to Vikings vs Saints:

It is clear the Vikings are getting close to their first regular season game. Social Media is bursting with Vikings talk and articles. With the interest peaking, media outlets are trying to stuff Vikings’ content down fans’ faces. We did the same thing.

Well, we are here for the fans. So, let’s show you some of the best Vikings’ content out there so you can be ready for Monday night.

Let’s start with some fun stuff from Chris Hawkey of KFAN. He did his regular “Caraoke” segment this week with Vikings’ Running Back, Latavius Murray:

Randy Moss will sound the gjallarhorn on Monday night. The place will be so electric. I am so jacked up already.

Bradford is entering a season where he has more stability than he has seen in the past.

We will do more of this as we lead up to Monday so we can make sure you get all the Vikings’ content you can eat up.

Gopher Football @ Oregon State Saturday; 9 PM on FS1

The Golden Gopher Football Team has a lot to prove after last week’s narrow victory over Buffalo. We aren’t sure if it was Buffalo, MN or Buffalo, NY, or some other Buffalo, our determined reporters are working to get that info for you.

In the meantime, we can discuss how it doesn’t matter. They weren’t any good. The Gophers should have mopped the field with them. But they didn’t. There are all sorts of excuses being thrown around about why it happened. At the end of the day, the Gophers were favored by 26 f****** points. That is what we call an obvious favorite, folks. So, Win.

The defense didn’t look as stellar as we expected but they shut down Buffalo, when needed. We knew the offense was supposed to struggle, especially the passing game. However, the running game should have been there. Buffalo is Buffalo. The Gophers are supposed to have two of the best running backs in the Big Ten with Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks. That didn’t look to be the case last Thursday. The O-line better figure shit out.

Well, lucky for them, Oregon State’s running defense is supposed to be one of the worst in the FBS too. So, they will get another shot. If the Gophers can’t run the ball this season, they might not win another game. I don’t know how many fans will be rowing the boat then.

The Gophers are actually underdogs in this game at +2. If I were still a betting man, I would take the Gophers and the points for sure, but why the f*** is being an underdog to Oregon State a thing???

Nonetheless, this game will be a success if the Gophers can win. In order to do that, they will have to move the ball on the ground. If they can do that and the passing game can keep the ball with the maroon and gold, the Gophers should be fine behind that defense.

You can read more on the Gophers before the game here:

Jim Souhan (Star Tribune): When Fleck abandons ‘elite,’ he’s a man with title plans

Randy Johnson (Star Tribune): Tyler Johnson’s transition: from Minneapolis North star, to Gophers freshman flash, to … team leader?

Andy Greder (Pioneer Press): How does Minnesota stack up against Oregon State?

How Many Games Will the Wolves Win in 2017:

This question has been common since the Wolves’ big offseason. HoopsRumors.com looked into it on Friday. Most betting websites have the Wolves just under 50 wins for the year. That would put the Timberwolves in the 5 seed, if you look at the regular season standings from last year.

Personally, I take the over. I do it because I think the Wolves are the 3-4 seed this year in the West. That probably means more than 50 wins on the season.

Sometimes I just sit back and think about how much fun it is just to talk about the Wolves being in the playoffs. I just can’t wait until we actually see it come to fruition. Here is the article:

MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan

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