It’s overcast but not presently raining as we come to you from Target Field today. The Minnesota Twins are preparing for game three of a four-game weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays, and have split the first two in a couple of tight games. The tarp is on the field, so it’s looking like on-field batting practice will be a no-go.
It’ll be right-hander Matt Andriese for the Rays opposing Ervin Santana for the Twins. We’ll have more on that in a bit here.
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Glen Perkins threw his first bullpen session today, and manager Paul Molitor suspects he’ll throw three total before heading out on a rehab stint. He’s definitely getting closer to returning from his shoulder issue. Right now it’s unclear if he’ll also throw any live batting practice on the field with hitters, but that would seem to be a good bet. Perkins threw from 120 feet on Friday and reported no problems.
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Phil Hughes’ name was listed among the relievers on today’s lineup card, all but assuring that he won’t make another start in the near term. The Twins will most likely be able to juggle the rotation with a Monday off-day, and re-insert Kyle Gibson — starting Saturday in Louisville for the Rochester Red Wings — once he’s ready to return. Gibson told Cold Omaha on Friday he already had his return plane ticket in-hand for his trip back to Minnesota before even heading for Louisville, so it’s definitely a one-time thing.
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Here’s how the Twins line up today:
Santana is on the mound today for the Twins, making his 10th start of the season. On the whole the results haven’t been bad — 4.13 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 3.89 FIP — but he was markedly better in April (3.15 ERA) than May (4.82). Santana’s velocity is down over his last three starts, from a season-high 94.7 mph average against the Blue Jays on May 19 down to 92.7 mph last time out. That last mark is his second-lowest single-game average velocity of the season (92.5 mph against Kansas City on April 8).
Perhaps Santana sensed that, as he ratcheted up his slider usage (a season-high 44.3 percent) against the A’s last time out. One thing Santana isn’t afraid to do is throw the slider in any count. This year, he’s thrown 18 sliders on 3-0 counts.
Facing the Twins is Andriese, a 26-year-old righty who has put together five solid starts for the Rays so far (2.36 ERA). The strikeouts haven’t been in large supply for the righty (5.2 K/9), but Molitor said Andriese moves the ball around to both sides of the plate with his fastball and is a good athlete on the mound. His PITCHf/x profile on Fangraphs shows him in the low-90s with his four-seamer, and he’ll mix in a slider and cutter and every now and then a curve and change. The slider, cutter and change all have double-digit whiff rates, and everything but his four-seam fastball gets put on the ground more than half the time.
As a result, there’s little wonder why he’s allowed just one home run all season — and on the four-seam fastball besides.
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Notes and Quotes
- The Twins’ High-A team boasts six FSL All Stars: Tyler Jay, Stephen Gonsalves, Raul Fernandez, Todd Van Steensel, Trey Vavra and Edgar Corcino. Injuries and promotions also meant shortstop Nick Gordon and righty Felix Jorge made it. Hammond Stadium and the Miracle are hosting the game, which will take place June 18. They last hosted in 2009.
- Molitor’s next win will be his 100th as Twins manager.
- Today’s game is on Fox Sports 1 — the second such game this year (May 14 at Cleveland).
- Joe Mauer needs just one more double to reach 350 for his career. The only other Twin with more? Kirby Puckett with 414.
- The Fangraphs PITCHf/x algorithm insists that Michael Tonkin throws almost exclusively a two-seam fastball, but the reliever told Cold Omaha Saturday that he hasn’t thrown more than two or three of them total since the first part of the year. “I struck out Marcus Semien in Oakland with one,” Tonkin said. “He kept fouling off four-seamers so I knew I was in for a battle, so I just changed it up.” Tonkin’s four-seamer naturally gets similar movement to a two-seamer, while his two-seamer just takes it up a bit more.
- In a strange quirk, Tonkin’s fastball has gone from groundball central last year (55.4 percent) to the direct opposite this season (23.9 percent). Nothing has changed on Tonkin’s part, he said.
- The Twins are sixth in MLB in bullpen ERA over the last two weeks (2.72). They’ve thrown 43 innings as a bunch, with a solid 10.3 K/9 and just 1.3 BB/9 mark while inducing grounders 51.5 percent of the time. Only five teams have higher strikeout rates in that time frame.
- Byron Buxton is on a modest five-game hitting streak. He’s 5-for-15 since being recalled.
- Buxton said the game has and continues to slow down for him this time around with the Twins. “I’m trying to be selective while being aggressive,” Buxton said. “I’ve been able to slow the game down a lot better this time around. I’ve been better mentally, realizing that you have to be patient and sometimes fail in order to succeed.” Buxton added that he struggled for about a week after returning to Triple-A as he was chiefly concerned about getting back to Minnesota as quickly as possible. Once he settled down, he started hitting, and it wasn’t just fastballs. “I’d say it was a little of everything,” Buxton said. He added that Molitor told him to just go out, play the game, have fun and relax this time around in the big leagues.
- Molitor on Andriese: “He’s got a little bit of similarity to the guy last night. He knows how to use his fastball to both sides of the plate. He can get you to expand, especially inside to right handers. He’ll induce groundballs. He got a good feel for pitching. He’s not a flamethrower or anything like that, but he just knows how to move the baseball around. He looks like a good athlete on the mound. He’s having a good year. His numbers are good.”
- On trying to find playing time for Eduardo Escobar: “I talked to him when he came off the DL about where he was at. It’s hard for him, because he’s used to playing. Part of that is just making sure I can protect my bench with an infielder. I’m looking for spots for him to get in there. Tomorrow there’s a really good chance he’ll be in there.” Molitor added that if Eduardo Nunez and Escobar were both to start, Escobar would be at short with Nunez playing elsewhere.
- Molitor mentioned that he very briefly met legendary boxer and humanitarian — not necessarily in that order — Muhammad Ali, who passed away overnight at the age of 74. Molitor said he shook Ali’s hand at the FanFest that accompanied the Super Bowl hosted by Minneapolis on the Metrodome on Jan. 26, 1992.
- Molitor said his bullpen is pretty healthy and in good shape, and that Trevor May is ascending back up the list for late-inning work. “On a given day with a need late in the game I wouldn’t have an issue with using Trevor,” Molitor said, before adding that he’s also been pleased with the work of Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler in the meantime in those spots. After allowing earned runs in five straight appearances in mid May, May — the pitcher that is — has allowed just one earned run in his last five appearances while striking out eight of the 13 batters he has faced.
