OAKLAND, Calif. — Standing 6-foot-9, Bailey Ober can be an imposing figure on the mound for his opponents. The one drawback his size provides is that it also makes him a large target for teammates looking to land an ice bath.
For the first time in his career Saturday, Ober was the recipient of an icy postgame shower. He earned the celebration by checking off another box, completing the first game of his career.
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With the back end of the bullpen overworked, the Minnesota Twins’ starting pitcher delivered his relief corps a huge lift, pitching all nine innings. Backed by an early offensive outburst, Ober needed only 89 pitches to help the Twins snap a three-game losing streak with a 10-2 victory over the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum.
Manny Margot blasted a three-run homer and he, Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda each had three hits for the Twins, who finished with 16 hits. Ober did the rest, retiring the last 17 batters he faced, striking out 10 and establishing a career high with 23 swings-and-misses.
“I looked up in about the eighth inning and he had thrown 16 balls in the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Ober, who threw 70 strikes. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that in my life. I’ve seen some exceptional pitching performances, but it was just nothing but effectiveness, everywhere you looked. … Just a great day for him. And for us.”
A few years ago, Ober must have wondered if this kind of game would ever occur. In an attempt to help their young pitcher build up his workload and prevent injuries, the Twins often didn’t let Ober throw more than 80 pitches or six innings during his 2021 rookie season.
The transition from college was jarring for Ober, who’d thrown five complete games while at the College of Charleston.
But the further he’s gone in his career, the more the Twins have afforded Ober the chance to pitch deeper into games. Earlier this year, Ober completed a career-high 7 1/3 innings in an April 26 win at Anaheim.
On Saturday, several factors allowed Ober to still be on the field, showered with ice.
For starters, Ober was outstanding after surrendering two early home runs. After two fastballs were tagged for homers in the first two innings, Ober and catcher Ryan Jeffers began to call more changeups, sliders and cutters. Not only did the Twins alter the game plan, Ober executed it and Oakland’s aggressive offense didn’t have a chance.
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Ober also benefitted from a big early lead.
The Twins scored a run in the first when JP Sears hit Jeffers with a bases-loaded pitch to make it 1-0. The Twins followed with seven second-inning runs, including a three-run jolt from Margot to make it a 4-1 game. Miranda doubled in two more runs later in the inning and Byron Buxton (double) and Kyle Farmer each had RBI hits to open a seven-run lead.
Beyond that, the Twins’ bullpen has pitched in a bunch of high-leverage spots over the past two weeks. With the team winning eight of its past 12, relievers have been asked to pitch a ton and it’s started to catch up to them.
On Friday, Jhoan Duran blew his first save of the season. Entering Saturday’s game, Duran and Jorge Alcala each made eight appearances in the previous 14 days while Griffin Jax threw in seven games. Cole Sands appeared in six games and Josh Staumont in five.
“Being able to get that early lead and being able to go deep into the game obviously was pretty big,” Ober said. “It’s part of the game. Bullpens are going to get beat up sometimes just because of tight games. As starting pitchers, your job is to sometimes go as deep as you can and try to give them a break.”
Afterward, the Twins were ecstatic about the pause Ober provided. Coupled with Monday’s day off, Saturday’s contest gives Baldelli a meaningful chance to provide his relievers with a breather. Early on, Baldelli knew Ober was pitching efficiently based on his lack of conversations with pitching coach Pete Maki.
“Pete who?” Baldelli said. “To get me to not talk to Pete Maki during the game takes a lot. But Bailey gave us a lot.”
𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝘽𝘼𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙔 𝙊𝘽𝙀𝙍.
𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙣!!#MNTwins 10#Athletics 2 pic.twitter.com/SAQ9hTP4fl— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 22, 2024
Not only did Ober fill up the strike zone, he pitched quickly. In five of nine innings, Ober threw fewer than 10 pitches.
He surrendered a game-tying homer to JJ Bleday in the first inning and Tyler Soderstrom led off the second inning with another round-tripper. But after Soderstrom’s homer, Ober limited Oakland’s offense to a single in the third inning and a fourth-inning double.
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The 89 pitches Ober threw were the fewest in a complete game by a Twins pitcher since Carlos Silva’s 74-pitch effort in 2005.
“Early in a game like that, to let up a couple homers, I know that doesn’t feel good and I know that can spiral on you quick,” Jeffers said. “It could spiral on you quick. I think for him to handle that was really good.”
Turns out Ober had more conversations with Maki than Baldelli. The one the two held in the dugout after the seventh inning proved most significant.
“After the seventh inning, I walked past Pete and said, ‘I’m finishing this thing,’” Ober said. “I kind of had that in my mind later in the game and that’s what my goal was. … I’ve been there before, but it’s just been a while. It feels really good to get the first one.”
Same goes for the ice bath.
Throughout his first four seasons, Ober had the pleasure of interrupting a live television interview by showering a teammate with ice. But for the first time in the majors, he was the designated target. Given his size, rotation-mates Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan had no problem finding Ober standing in front of the visiting dugout.
“Easy,” López said. “Big target. He was very cooperative.”
Potpourri
Margot singled in the first inning and scored when Jeffers was hit by a pitch. The hit was the 700th of his career. He blasted only his second home run of the season in the second inning, scored another run in the seventh and made a nice catch in the bottom half of the inning. Margot entered the game slashing .286/.366/.381 in his past 71 plate appearances dating back to May 18. “He’s been playing good baseball,” Baldelli said. “He’s had a lot of good at-bats. He’s hit balls hard all over the field.” … Max Kepler (sore neck) showed enough improvement Friday to potentially get into the game in case of emergency but still wouldn’t have started Saturday, Baldelli said. … Saturday’s output was the ninth time this season the Twins have scored 10 or more runs, the most in the American League. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers, who entered Saturday with 11 similar efforts, have more.
𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙊𝙏 𝙂𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝘿𝙀𝙀𝙋!! 🚀🚀🚀#MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/rz4UzHIcGE
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 22, 2024
(Photo: D. Ross Cameron / USA Today)
