Finding Solutions for Utilizing Bailey Ober in Twins’ Defeat – Hot

MILWAUKEE — Dylan Floro was greeted by a pair of hard-hit singles upon entering Tuesday’s game at American Family Field.

“We have to find a way and do a better job of staying in the ballgame right there,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You might have a bad inning, but we weren’t able to seal up the holes right there and find a way through.

“We just have to find a way to not give up five there. I mean, once you do that, it’s tough sledding at that point.”

Floro, who took over for starter Bailey Ober, surrendered singles to William Contreras and Carlos Santana with 109.4 mph and 100.8 exit velocities, according to Statcast. After striking out Willy Adames, the next four batters went as follows:

• 90.9 mph groundball single through the right side of the infield

• 64.2 mph bloop single to right field

• 62.9 mph single on a line drive that deflected off Carlos Correa’s glove

• 80.6 mph single through a drawn-in infield

“It’s frustrating,” Floro said. “Sometimes that’s part of the game right there. I just had to find a way to minimize it, and I didn’t do that.”

“We caught some breaks that inning, no question about it,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Some softly-hit balls found holes. But we kept putting it in play, and once in a while you get rewarded for that.

“That’s the adage of when you put the ball in play, because every once in a while something good can happen. That’s what happened tonight for us.”

Floro took over for Ober, who allowed two runs, two hits and three walks in five innings. He surrendered a two-run homer to Adames in the first inning, and a double and a walk to lead off the third. He got out of that jam with a double play and lineout.

“Felt pretty good today,” Ober said. “Ball was coming out pretty good. I had trouble a little bit with command, but overall I felt like I pitched pretty well. The only one I wish I could have back was the changeup I left in the zone when I was trying to expand [to Adames].”

Ober’s pitch count was at 78 through the fifth inning, and at that point he had retired eight straight Brewers hitters. He said he was expecting to go out for the sixth, but Minnesota went to the bullpen.

Before the game, Baldelli said the Twins — with Joe Ryan nearing a return from the injured list — are considering going to a six-man rotation, and acknowledged, as a byproduct, Ober could be a beneficiary of that.

The 28-year-old Ober has thrown a career-high 118 2/3 innings this season, but Baldelli also noted there are other “subtle” avenues to lighten his workload the Twins could explore, if they see fit, such as giving him an extra day between starts or a shorter start.

As far as Tuesday goes, Ober settled in after a shaky start to give the Twins five solid innings. Minnesota had a rested bullpen and liked the matchup Floro came on for.

“It’s a tight ballgame and our bullpen is pretty fresh and ready to go,” Baldelli said. “Are we going to send [Ober] out there every game, at this point in the season, and let him throw 100 pitches? He hasn’t done that, anywhere near that, at any point in his career. We know that.

“This is probably a little bit more because he gave us five good innings. Was he at his absolute best today? I don’t know. He settled in. Probably not at his absolute best today, and he gave us a good effort. I liked what I saw out of him overall, and we took what we got.”

Whether the Twins look to manage Ober’s workload at points down the stretch, he knows he can only control what he can control. 

“I’m trying to go out there and help this team win games so we can make the playoffs and make a deep postseason run,” Ober said. “We’re trying to make the playoffs and win in the postseason. That’s our plan, that’s what I want to do and that’s what I plan on trying to do.”