Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Twins' Jose Berrios no-hits Padres through five, still takes the loss. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 1 Souhan: New Twins bosses make the hard but rational choices. Star Tribune (Souhan) p. 2 After a day off to recover from Brandon Kintzler trade, Twins take on the Padres. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 Twins call up Dillon Gee, activate Byron Buxton. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 4 Padres’ Chacin outduels Jose Berrios as Twins fall. Pioneer Press (Paris) p. 5 Twins manager Paul Molitor not ready to wave the white flag. Pioneer Press (Paris) p. 5 Twins reinstate Byron Buxton, recall right-hander Dillon Gee. Pioneer Press (Staff) p. 7 Santana aims to top Padres in finale. MLB.com (Ruiz) p. 7 Berrios' gem not enough as Twins fall. MLB.com (Cassavell and Bollinger) p. 8 Buxton activated; Gee recalled by Twins. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 9 After rough July, Berrios starts August strong. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 10 Mining the Minors: Who’s likely to get a big league audition this season? ESPN 1500 (Depue) p. 11 Hedges’ 2-run homer helps Padres to 3-0 win vs Twins (Aug 01, 2017). Associated Press p. 12 Twins look for jump-start from Santana vs. Padres (Aug 02, 2017). FOX Sports p. 14 Olney: Grading the 2017 trade deadline. ESPN (Olney) p. 14 Is weather playing a role in MLB's record-setting home run spike this season? AccuWeather (Miltner) p. 15

Twins' Jose Berrios no-hits Padres through five, still takes the loss

La Velle E. Neal lll | Star Tribune | August 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO – Paul Molitor left the team hotel Tuesday and headed west toward San Diego International Airport for his morning walk. Along the way, he searched his phone for some theme music. His selection? “No Surrender,” by Bruce Springsteen, from the 1984 “Born In The USA” album. “It happened to randomly come across my playlist,” Molitor said. “I said, ‘That’s a good one for today.’ ” When he arrived at Petco Park to prepare for Tuesday’s game against the Padres, Molitor went up to the whiteboard and wrote, “No retreat, no surrender” — from a key line of the song. Despite trades of Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler in recent days, Molitor didn’t want anyone in the clubhouse feeling sorry for themselves. The standards remain in place. Play to win. “The odds get a little longer when you lose a few pieces,” Molitor said, “but it doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish what you set out to accomplish over the past 4½ months.” Righthander Jose Berrios followed orders, taking a no-hitter into the sixth. But Padres righthander Jhoulys Chacin quieted the Twins bats as San Diego crafted a 3-0 win. Chaska’s own Brad Hand earned his seventh save as the Padres beat the Twins in Petco Park for the first time in six games. San Diego scored once off Berrios, then added a two-run home run by Austin Hedges to add to the Twins’ miserable West Coast swing. The Twins are now 1-6 on the road trip, the only win coming on Friday when Garcia — who’s no longer with the team — pitched. They also have lost seven of their past eight and eight of their past 10. The Twins haven’t been getting blown out in games during their swing west, only getting outscored 29-21 in those six losses. But a familiar pattern of missed scoring opportunities and shaky bullpen showed itself again. Opponents have outscored the Twins 17-2 after the fifth inning

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during the road trip. “I think guys are trying to maybe do a little too much,” Molitor said. “Or the usual symptoms when you press and try to win games. Try to keep the line moving rather than try to hit a three-run homer, or those type of things. You’re just trying to look for a quality at-bat with runners in scoring position.” Berrios entered Tuesday with a 5.76 ERA over his previous six starts. But he reverted to his tantalizing form from May, when he was called up from Class AAA Rochester and dominated on the way to a 7-1 start. In seven innings, Berrios held San Diego to one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. “It’s not fun when you do so well and things don’t go your way,” Berrios said. “We’re definitely still trying to compete.” His only blemish during the first half of the game was a one-out walk to Carlos Asuaje in the first inning, but he was quickly erased on a double play. Berrios began devouring the Padres. He did receive a couple of generous calls from home plate umpire Ron Kulpa, but he also took advantage of some free-swinging Friars, baffling them with his curveball and blowing 95-miles-per-hour heaters by them. The run ended in the sixth. So did the tie game. Hunter Renfroe led off with a chopper to third. Miguel Sano was playing back and did all he could to gather the ball and throw to first, but Renfroe was safe. Austin Hedges then blasted a 1-1 pitch to right. Max Kepler failed to get a good jump on the ball and it landed just out of his reach for a double, putting runners on second and third. Chacin tapped to third for the first out. Manuel Margot, named NL player of the week on Monday, lined out to Byron Buxton to center, but it was deep enough for Renfroe to score the first run of the game. San Diego scored two runs in the eighth when Hedges hit a two-run opposite field home run off Alan Busenitz. Souhan: New Twins bosses make the hard but rational choices

Jim Souhan | Star Tribune | August 2, 2017

They didn’t make any splashy moves over the winter. They didn’t make any promising moves this spring. They have sacrificed the remainder of another Twins summer on the altar of potential. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have spent their first season in charge of the Twins doing all they can to frustrate fans who want to see either trades or urgency. They’ve worried those who wanted to see Brian Dozier and Ervin Santana dealt at the high-water mark of their perceived value. They’ve angered those who wanted to see this year’s team given its best chance to compete for the playoffs by keeping an All-Star closer and trading for help. And now that they feel besieged like residents of a “Game of Thrones” castle, this needs to be said: They have operated rationally. We won’t know for years whether the prospects they received in exchange for Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler are more like Johan Santana or Alex Meyer. But Falvey and Levine maintained perspective during a season that threatened to fool them as much as it did the public and players. Dozier said the Twins should be adding, not subtracting. That’s faulty math.

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Entering Tuesday’s game in San Diego, the Twins were 50-53 despite having received All-Star-caliber efforts from Kintzler, Ervin Santana and Miguel Sano and having remained relatively healthy. Their run differential, an objective measure of a team’s true capabilities, was minus-72, the 24th-best in baseball. Their team ERA ranked 26th, down there with franchises that are about to fire everyone and start over. You can make the case that the 2017 Twins have overachieved, given their performance last year. You can argue that they’re promising, and that with luck they could find a way to sneak into the second wild-card spot this season. But you can’t make a rational case that this is a good team. Good teams don’t call 44-year-old Bartolo Colon out of retirement and find that he’s one of their best starters. It’s hard to make a statistical case that this is even an average team right now. Falvey and Levine are in Minnesota because their predecessors failed to acquire and develop quality pitching. So they’re trying to acquire and develop quality pitching. The first smart sentence I ever heard from a baseball executive came from Andy MacPhail, who said that if you want to build a good five-man rotation you’d better have 10 pitching prospects you liked. These days, with the prevalence of pitching injuries, you may need 20. So why haven’t they traded Santana and Dozier to increase their stockpile of young arms? Because they need to establish that they will seek equitable value in every deal. They could have traded Dozier this winter for pitching prospect Jose De Leon. The Dodgers made him sound like Pedro Martinez. He’ll turn 25 next week. His ERA at Class AAA this season: 6.75. His ERA in the big leagues this season: 10.13. They could trade Santana at any time, but if they don’t get major league ready pitchers in return, they’d be dooming all of next season. Santana is their ace. He’ll make $13.5 million next year. He’s a bargain, and the Twins have an option to keep him in 2019. I understand the frustration of fans, especially ticket-buyers. They’ve invested time and possibly a lot of money in this year’s team. But selling out to pump up a mediocre squad for the long shot of winning the second wild card and the longer shot of making a worthwhile playoff run would be foolish. When the Twins were competitive, Falvey and Levine traded for Garcia. When the team faltered, they traded him and Kintzler. They appear to have done well flipping Garcia. Now they should trade Matt Belisle and other spare parts in August, knowing they may need 20 good prospects to fill out a future rotation. After a day off to recover from Brandon Kintzler trade, Twins take on the Padres

La Velle E. Neal lll | Star Tribune | August 1, 2017

Sorry for the delay. Had lots of pregame stuff to hammer out. The Twins were all over the San Diego area during their off day on Monday. Brandon Kintzler was at a safari park when he was informed that he had been traded. A group of Twins visited Navy SEAL training headquarters. Manager Paul Molitor played golf with his agent, John Boggs. So they are relaxed and refreshed as they open a two-game series against the Padres. Let's see how refreshed they are. Some of the conversation before the game was about how they want to finish the season strong despite the recent trades of Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler. "There will be no white flags being waved in here," second baseman Brian Dozier said.

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We'll see. I was talking to a press box wag where who said the visiting team has a poor record in the first game here coming off an off-day in San Diego. We're about to find out. Dillon Gee is here, and will pitch in long relief. Aldalberto Mejia has been named the starter for Thursday's game against Texas. Bartolo Colon will start on Friday. It's game time. Twins Brian Dozier, 2B Max Kepler, RF Miguel Sano, 3B Joe Mauer, 1B Eduardo Escobar, SS Zack Granite, LF Byron Buxton, CF Jason Castro, C Jose Berrios, RHP Jose Berrios, RHP Padres Manuel Margot, CF Carlos Asuaje, 2B Jose Pirela, LF Yangervis Solarte, SS Wil Myers, 1B Cory Spangenberg, 3B Hunter Renfroe, RF Austin Hedges, C Jhoulys Chacin, RHP Twins call up Dillon Gee, activate Byron Buxton

La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | August 1, 2017

Dillon Gee is getting his chance.The Twins are calling up the righthander from Class AAA Rochester to fill one of two openings on the 25-man roster following the trades of Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler. Byron Buxton was activated after missing 14 games because of a groin strain, and will take the other opening. The center fielder was on rehab assignment in Rochester. Gee, 31, was signed as a minor league free agent on June 22, but was called up immediately when the Twins were low on bodies. He never pitched, and was sent back to Rochester. He's 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA in five starts with the Rochester. The numbers look great, but his command has been shaky at times. Still, the Twins are giving Gee a shot instead of recalling Kyle Gibson. Once Gee appears in a game - the Twins could use a starter on Thursday against Texas - the Twins will set a team record by using 30 pitchers this season. Rookie center fielder Zack Granite gets to stick around for a while longer. He's far from the defensive player Buxton is and has zero power, but takes good at bats. After enjoying an off day on Monday - many players and staff spent some of the time visiting the NAB Coronado, home of SEAL training - the

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Twins begin a two-game series against the Padres tonight at 9:05. Padres’ Chacin outduels Jose Berrios as Twins fall

Jay Paris | Pioneer Press | August 1, 2017

SAN DIEGO — Minnesota’s Jose Berrios pitched great against the Padres on Tuesday night. But San Diego’s Jhoulys Chacin threw a tad better. The Padres prevailed, 3-0, as the Twins squandered an excellent outing by Berrios (9-5) in losing their third straight and for the seventh time in eight games. The Twins’ right-hander went seven solid innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks. He struck out four. But Chacin (11-7) went seven scoreless innings. He was backed by two Padres relievers, with Brad Hand getting his seventh save. The Padres tacked on two late runs on Austin Hedges’ two-run blast in the eighth. The Twins had a chance in the sixth, when trailing 1-0. They had two hits and a stolen base but had little to show for it. Zack Granite’s double play erased him, and Eduardo Escobar, after Escobar had singled. Byron Buxton, fresh off the disabled list, singled to right and stole second. But Minnesota stranded the tying run when Castro went down looking on Chacin’s full-count slider. The Padres got their first hit, and the game’s first run in the sixth inning. Manuel Margot’s sacrifice fly was enough to score Hunter Renfroe for a 1-0 lead. Renfore reached on an infield single, a slow dribbler to third base. Then Hedges went opposite field on Berrios’ 93 mph fastball and right fielder Max Kepler nearly made a sensational play, two steps from the fence. But the ball glanced off the tip of his glove for a double and Renfore scampered to third. Berrios was sensational from the get-go, surrendering just a walk over the first five innings. After Carlos Asuaje drew a bases on ball, Berrios retired 13 consecutive Padres. The Padres’ defense went off-kilter in the third, but the Twins couldn’t take advantage. Castro opened the inning with a grounder to the right side, which was cut off by third baseman Cory Spangenberg in a shift alignment. But his throw sailed over Wil Myers head for the error. Berrios laid down a sacrifice bunt, but it became more than that when Myers’ sailed his relay to second in trying to erase Castro. But with two on, no out, and the top of the order up, the Twins couldn’t produce. Brian Dozier hit a soft fly to Myers, Kepler went down looking and Miguel Sano’s grounder up the middle was flagged by Chacin for the putout. Twins manager Paul Molitor not ready to wave the white flag

Jay Paris | Pioneer Press | August 1, 2017

SAN DIEGO — Paul Molitor got a workout and inspiration on his walk around San Diego Bay on Tuesday. When Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender” flowed through his ear plugs, Molitor couldn’t ignore it. “It just happen to randomly come across my play list,” Molitor said. “I said, ‘that’s a good one.” The Twins returned to action against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, one day after unloading all-star closer Brandon Kintzler. Of course, that move came on the heels of peddling starter Jaime Garcia. “You try to be as understanding as you can of the decisions that are made that the people that decide those things are looking out for the best

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interest of our organization,” Molitor said. It was Molitor’s call to scribble “No retreat, no surrender” on the clubhouse board for the players to see when heading toward the field. They passed it with gloves and bats, but no white flags regarding their path to the American League playoffs. “It always just sucks whenever you lose one of your brothers, an anchor to our pitching staff that has been really, really, really good this year,” Brian Dozier said. “And its frustrating when that happens.” Dozier was hoping the Twins would be buyers, not sellers, when the trading deadline arrived. But Garcia was moved quickly when the Twins, who are 1-5 on the road trip, started giving ground to the Indians and and Royals. “We always play GM, ‘what do we need’ all this kind of stuff,” Dozier said. “But at the end of the day we have to perform and I think we have. People want to blow it up like this road trip turned everything around. But if six games turns a season, you got the wrong mindset.” Molitor said having anything but a positive attitude going forward is a mistake. “You are a professional major league player,” he stressed. “Any type of self pity will only dig you a deeper hole. You come out there and try to not maybe do more than who you are, but understand that you have a chance to go out and play and put the uniform on and complete and who knows? “I’m certainly not losing faith that somehow we can put together some kind of run that gives us a chance to inch our way back into a potential postseason berth. I think the odds get a little longer when you lose a few of pieces but it doesn’t mean that you can’t still accomplish what you set out to accomplish over 5 1/2 months ago.” How Molitor navigates the final innings now that Kintzler and his 22 saves have exited will be interesting to watch. Molitor said the team isn’t in a position to name a closer and he will turn first to southpaw Taylor Rogers and righty Matt Belisle. But, as Molitor acknowledged, that’s basically written in sand. Matchups and game situations will figure into Molitor’s thinking. “It’s kind of all hands on deck right now,” he said. “Be ready.” Ready or not the Twins set sail minus Kintzler. “It makes it tough in the short term because it leaves a void that’s been more than adequalty filled for the whole season,” Molitor said. “I haven’t had to change closers. He’s been available just about every time there has been a game to be saved. It changes dramatically what we’ll be doing at an end of a game. We will adjust and try to find a way to get it done.” Dozier was bummed the path forward is minus Garcia and Kintzler. But it doesn’t change his approach. “You try to be optimistic as possible,” he said. “My whole life is built around you got to find motivation. “It’s not about proving people wrong it’s just that we still think we are still very good and have a chance to make a run at this thing. “Is it going to be harder? Absolutely if you look at it realistically. But there is a lot of baseball left. Each and every one of us in here think we have a chance to be in the postseason.” Maybe the Twins are born to make a run. If so, there’s another Springsteen song called ‘The Rising” and just maybe that will fit the Twins as well. GEE IS GEE Right-hander Dillion Gee was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, his second go-around with the team this season. Gee is hopeful on this occasion he has time to unpack. Gee was with the Twins from June 23-26 without making an appearance. “That went by pretty quick,’’ he said. “I know why I came up, it was an emergency situation. I get it. I’m just glad I was ab le to go down there and get some innings under my belt. But I wondered in the back of the mind if I missed my shot.”

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Dee honed the break on his curveball and his fastball command has been good. Molitor said Gee will be used for extended innings out of the bullpen. “He’s my long man that I have been kind of looking for for a couple of months,’’ he said. “We really haven’t had one. That is the role, at least for now, and then we’ll see how things go.’’ BUXTON IS BACK Byron Buxton had just gotten over his strained groin when his head started pounding. His legs got fit but migraine headaches slowed his return. Buxton was activated on Tuesday after missing 14 games. “It’s frustrating when it hits you like that,’’ Buxton said about his headaches. “It took about three days for them to go away.’’ Buxton said he gets them about once a month but he is usually able to monitor their intenisty. “I feel pretty good,’’ he said. “But I got a long way to go to where I want my bat to be.’’ Buxton leads the Twins with 16 stolen bases but is hitting but .218. “He’s still a big part of where we are going here,’’ Molitor said. “It’s good to have him out there.’’ FOR STARTERS Monitor announced that Adalberto Mejia will start on Thursday when the Twins kick off a six-game homestand against the Texas Rangers. Bartolo Colon will follow Mejia to the mound on Friday. After that? “To be determined,’’ Molitor said. Twins reinstate Byron Buxton, recall right-hander Dillon Gee

Staff| Pioneer Press | August 1, 2017

The Twins reinstated outfielder Byron Buxton from a rehab assignment on Tuesday and recalled right-hander Dillon Gee from Triple-A Rochester. The Twins had two open spots on the active roster after trading Brandon Kintzler to Washington on Monday, and sending Jaime Garcia to the New York Yankees on Sunday. Gee will presumably take Garcia’s spot in the rotation. Gee, 31, is 3-1 with a 2.00 earned-run average in five starts for the Red Wings this season. Buxton missed 14 games on the disabled list with a left groin strain. In the meantime, rookie Zack Granite had taken his place in center field. The Twins start a two-game series in San Diego tonight at 9 p.m. Santana aims to top Padres in finale

Nathan Ruiz| MLB | August 2, 2017

The Padres and Twins conclude their two-game series with a matchup of right-handers Wednesday at Petco Park, with Ervin Santana going for Minnesota and Luis Perdomo pitching for San Diego. Santana has excelled against the Padres in his career, posting a 1.69 ERA in four starts. But he hasn't pitched against them since 2014 while with the Braves. The San Diego lineup he'll face Wednesday will be much different, as infielder Yangervis Solarte is the Padres' lone offensive holdover from that 2014 team. Perdomo has never faced the Twins, but he but has a 0.82 ERA in two starts against the American League Central in his career. He came within a

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strike of seven innings of one-run ball in his last start Thursday against the Mets, but Yoenis Cespedes' double began a two-out rally that left Perdomo on the hook for four runs in 6 2/3 innings. Things to know for this game: ● Santana has allowed a home run in five straight starts, with multiple homers in three of them. He has a 5.34 ERA in that span. ● Perdomo has allowed a .293 average when opponents put the ball on the ground this year, compared with a .226 expected average, based on the quality of contact, according to Statcast. Out of 51 pitchers with at least 150 at-bats on grounders this season, that gap of 67 points is the largest, although teammate Clayton Richard is also third on that list. ● Of Perdomo's 76 strikeouts, 53 of them have come on his curveball. That 69.7 percentage ranks third among starters with at least 50 strikeouts. Berrios' gem not enough as Twins fall

AJ Cassavell and Rhett Bollinger| MLB | August 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- It's August, and Jhoulys Chacin is still a Padre -- much to the chagrin of the Minnesota Twins. After spending July on the trade block, Chacin flummoxed the Twins in his first post-Deadline start Tuesday night. The veteran right-hander tossed seven scoreless frames, out-dueling Minnesota's Jose Berrios in a 3-0 Padres victory at Petco Park. San Diego broke through against Berrios in the top of the sixth inning when Manuel Margot's sacrifice fly plated Hunter Renfroe. Austin Hedges would tack on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth with a two-run homer to the opposite field. That was all Chacin needed. He allowed only three hits, while striking out three. The Padres have now won each of his last six starts, and Chacin has posted a 2.02 ERA in that span. "I'm happy I'm still here," said Chacin. "... I just want to keep going out and giving all I got for the team and [I'm] appreciating the opportunity they gave me." Berrios also lasted seven frames, allowing a run on two hits and fanning four. It was an impressive response after a shaky July, in which he posted a 5.79 ERA. "He had a really good night," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He used all his pitches. His fastball was good and had a little extra velocity on a couple strikeouts. But he was unlucky on a couple fronts. … Just not enough offense. We're having a tough time finding ways to win right now." Padres right-hander Kirby Yates pitched a perfect eighth, before handing the ball to closer Brad Hand. Like Chacin, Hand spent the better part of the past month dealing with trade rumors. And like Chacin, he set them aside rather easily. Hand struck out Miguel Sano and Joe Mauer to start the frame before getting Eduardo Escobar to fly to right. He's now tossed 20 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, the most in the Majors. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Game of inches: The Padres didn't notch their first hit against Berrios until the bottom of the sixth inning. It wasn't exactly scalded. Against a sharp breaking ball from Berrios, Renfroe tapped a chopper up the third-base line and barely beat Sano's throw. Hedges followed by lacing a double to right, just beyond the reach of Max Kepler. That set the stage for Margot's go-ahead sacrifice fly. Austin power: Hedges' blast -- on an 0-1 fastball from Alan Busenitz -- was his 14th home run of the season, moving him within eight of Mike Piazza's single-season record for a Padres catcher. It marked Hedges' first home run since he missed two weeks with a concussion last month. He hadn't gone deep since July 7 in Philadelphia. "He's been through so much in the last two weeks," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We missed him when he was on the concussion DL. We have him back swinging the bat. He's impacted us. The numbers don't look great, but the guy gets big hits. He's done it repetitively this year." QUOTABLE "It's not the best feeling. It's not fun when you do well and then things don't go our way. But we're still trying to compete and make the playoffs." -- Berrios on the Twins, who have lost seven of eight

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"You're always open [to returning]. I'm really happy here, and they treat me really well. They have confidence in me, so I just want to give the same to the team, just give it all I have every time that I go out and pitch." -- Chacin, an impending free agent, when asked whether he'd consider returning to the Padres this offseason SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS It was the first loss for the Twins at Petco Park, as they entered with a 5-0 record at the ballpark in Interleague play. It was the first time Minnesota lost in San Diego since June 8, 2003. SOLARTE AT SHORT In his first start at shortstop since 2014, Yangervis Solarte passed muster. He took part in a pair of slick double plays and made every routine play that came his way. The lone hiccup on the night came in the seventh when Escobar legged out an infield hit. Solarte charged and fired a low throw to first baseman Wil Myers, who was unable to pick it. "He held his own," said Green. "I thought there were some really nice double-play pivots out there." Solarte -- better suited for second and third base -- will continue to play short sporadically in the future, so the Padres can fit Carlos Asuaje and Cory Spangenberg into the lineup. WHAT'S NEXT Twins: The Twins will turn to veteran right-hander Ervin Santana (11-7, 3.37 ERA) for the series finale on Wednesday at 2:40 p.m. CT. Santana went 6 2/3 innings last time out, allowing four runs on seven hits in a no-decision against the Dodgers.. Padres: Ground-ball machine Luis Perdomo starts Wednesday as the Padres and Twins wrap up their two-game Interleague set. Among pitchers with as many innings, nobody has induced grounders at a higher clip than Perdomo's 65-percent mark. First pitch is slated for 12:40 p.m. PT. Buxton activated; Gee recalled by Twins

Rhett Bollinger| MLB | August 1, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- After trading closer Brandon Kintzler and lefty Jaime Garcia before Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Twins activated center fielder Byron Buxton from the 10-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Dillon Gee from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday to take the vacated roster spots. Buxton had been out since July 14 with a strained groin and was expected to return on July 25. But he suffered migraine headaches last week, and he was sent out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester over the weekend. Buxton went 5-for-12 with two homers while with Rochester. "It was frustrating," Buxton said. "The biggest thing is I was ready to go back on the field and healthy, and then I get a migraine on that ninth day right before I was going to come off. But I couldn't control the situation and tried to make the best of it." Rookie center fielder Zack Granite filled in for Buxton while he was out, but Buxton will remain the club's starting center fielder, while Granite will stay with the Twins as an extra outfielder. Granite hit with .267/.333/.300 with seven RBIs in 17 games in Buxton's absence. "Every day up here is better than the Minor Leagues," Granite said. "We'll see what happens. A lot of things can change, but I'm happy to be here. I feel really good at the plate right now." Gee was called up as a long reliever and rejoins the Twins after posting a 2.00 ERA in five starts with Rochester. He has yet to appear in a game with Minnesota this season, but he was on the active roster from June 23-27. Gee got the call over right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was optioned on July 25 and isn't eligible to be recalled until Friday. "For right now, I'll be the guy stretched out in the 'pen," Gee said. "Today was start day in Rochester so I'm ready to go. There are some wheels in motion for when they need a fifth starter, but for now, I'm in the 'pen."

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The Twins, though, need a fifth starter on Saturday, and it could be Gee or Gibson depending on Gee's workload in long relief. Gibson's start with Rochester was pushed back to Friday from Wednesday. With the decision to trade Kintzler, the Twins don't have a full-time closer. Left-hander Taylor Rogers and right-hander Matt Belisle are expected to close based on matchups. "I'm not going to name a closer," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We're not really in the position to do that. Obviously, Rogers has pitched well late and Belisle has been throwing the ball well recently, so those are two guys I have confidence in. I can use that combination depending on where we are with matchups and things like that." After rough July, Berrios starts August strong

Rhett Bollinger| MLB | August 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- After a July that saw Jose Berrios scuffle with a 5.79 ERA in five starts, the right-hander bounced back with a strong effort against the Padres on Tuesday. Berrios attacked the strike zone, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over seven innings, throwing 75 pitches before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. But his effort wasn't enough in a 3-0 loss at Petco Park, which was Minnesota's seventh loss over its last eight games. It was still a positive sign for Berrios, however, as the 23-year-old was efficient and showed better command. He threw first-pitch strikes against 12 of the 22 batters he faced, and didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning. Of his 75 pitches, 46 were strikes, and he believed watching video of his last start against the Dodgers helped him turn it around. "My [command] was much better," Berrios said through a translator. "I looked back at the fourth inning against the Dodgers and noticed that when I fell behind, I don't want to say I didn't compete, but I didn't come back with quality pitches. But today, when I fell behind, I threw quality pitches. My control was much better." Berrios, though, was hurt in the sixth when he fell behind hitters, although he suffered from some tough luck, as the first hit from the Padres came on a slow roller down the third-base line from Hunter Renfroe. Austin Hedges followed with a double on a ball that right fielder Max Kepler couldn't handle after he initially broke in on a ball hit over his head. The winning run came on a sacrifice fly to center from Manuel Margot with Hedges getting caught in a rundown to end the inning on a double play. It was an effort worthy of a win for Berrios, but the offense struggled with three hits and Berrios was saddled with the loss. "He was unlucky on a couple fronts," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We didn't have much offense and then there was the swinging bunt to open the sixth and it looked Kep had some trouble with that ball and it ended up behind him." The move to pinch-hit Berrios also didn't work out, as Robbie Grossman struck out to open the eighth and Alan Busenitz served up a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to essentially seal the loss. It was another rough ending for the Twins, who failed to capitalize on both the Indians and Royals losing, and remain on the fringes of contention after the front office's decision to trade closer Brandon Kintzler and lefty Jaime Garcia. The Twins are 6 1/2 games back of Cleveland and 4 1/2 games behind Kansas City. "It's not the best feeling," Berrios said of the tough-luck loss. "It's not fun when you do well and then things don't go our way. But we're still trying to compete and make the playoffs."

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Mining the Minors: Who’s likely to get a big league audition this season?

Jake Depue | ESPN 1500 | August 1, 2017

Well, the trade deadline has passed, and in all likelihood, so too has the competitive portion of the Twins season. August and September will likely serve as auditions for a number of Twins minor leaguers, as has been the case in five of the last six years. While that’s disappointing for Twins fans—especially since the team came this close to being buyers and making a playoff push—it does present the opportunity to see the future in action. Unlike years past, though, I think a real case can be made that the Twins’ “winning window” opens fully in 2018, making 2017 auditions all the more interesting. Before we check in on how the Mining the Minors regulars are performing, then, here’s a quick look at some other prospects we may see at Target Field over the next two months. Mitch Garver: Almost certain to be called up, Garver’s putting up great numbers in Rochester, particularly for a catcher. Jake Reed: A hard throwing relief pitcher with good numbers at Double-A and Triple-A, Reed’s earned a shot in the Twins’ pen. John Curtiss: Similar profile to Reed, with even higher strikeout totals. Aaron Slegers: Slegers has quietly been dominant of late at Triple-A, and now sports a 3.13 ERA over 113 IP. His frame (6-foot-10) and durability make him a possible 5th starter candidate next year. Gabriel Moya: Acquired in the John Ryan Murphy trade, he’s put up video game numbers at Double-A, including 14.1 K/9. Mason Melotakis: A surprise DFA in June, the lefty reliever has nevertheless put up excellent numbers again this year, despite diminished velocity. Nik Turley: We all saw how it went for him in three starts in Minnesota. Maybe I’m crazy, but I still think there may be something there as a reliever. The Twins wouldn’t have kept him on the 40-man if they had no intention of seeing him again. Randy Rosario: He struggled in two outings in the big leagues, but he’s on the 40-man and has a 1.84 ERA at Double-A. Dietrich Enns: Acquired in the Jaime Garcia trade, Enns has a 2.29 ERA and 8.5 K/9 at Triple-A. On the 40-man and a dark horse rotation candidate next season. ByungHo Park: Remember him? He’s been heating up in Rochester. 40-man roster crunch might hurt his chances, though. All right, let’s get back to the Mining the Minors regulars. Mining the Minors Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Chattanooga: Gonsalves just keeps chugging along with a sub-3.00 ERA, high K numbers, and a low WHIP. On the year, he has a 2.90 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 80.2 IP. Gonsalves, while lacking an overpowering fastball, has demonstrated over and over again that he can get hitters out at every level he’s pitched. Since his professional career began in 2013, there’s not a blip on the radar; every year has been strong and earned him a promotion, along with a steadily climbing prospect ranking that now sees him among MLB.com’s top 100 prospects. I’d like to see Gonsalves moved up the organizational ladder this season—to Triple-A and the big leagues–for a couple of reasons. First, he’s now pitched the equivalent of a full year—between the second half of last year and this year—at Double-A without any issues. It’s time to see how he fares against more seasoned hitters at Triple-A. Second, Gonsalves should be a rotation candidate next spring, and thus it’d be valuable to give him a taste of the big leagues this September. An opportunity is there to get an important player’s feet wet in the majors in games that don’t matter, and doing so could help ease his transition for when he’s presumably starting important games for a contender next season. We saw J.O. Berrios appear nervous and overwhelmed in his first MLB go-around last year, and while every player’s different, taking action to help mitigate that possibility makes sense. Fernando Romero, RHP, Chattanooga: Like Gonsalves, Romero has also continued to be outstanding for the Lookouts. He currently has a 2.64 ERA, 1.259 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 in 105.2 IP. Romero should be a candidate for the rotation next spring, but unlike Gonsalves, I don’t see him getting big league time this year. Although it’d be nice for him to get a taste of the majors for reasons described above, Romero is likely going to run out of innings. The Twins haven’t announced any innings limit that I’m aware of, but he’s already pitched 15 innings more this season than

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he has in any previous minor league season. A look at his 2017 game log suggests the Twins are clearly being careful with his workload. In his last six starts, despite never giving up more than two earned runs, Romero hasn’t been allowed to pitch past the 5th inning. Only once in those starts has he thrown more than 90 pitches, and all season he’s only thrown 100 pitches in a game once. With the Twins now out of contention, I’m not sure it makes sense to call him up for a spot start either, as they did with Felix Jorge. My guess is Romero will be pitching 5 innings or less the rest of the way and be shut down at the end of the Double-A season. Nevertheless, he’s been phenomenal, and along with Gonsalves represents real reason for optimism about the 2018 Twins rotation. Nick Gordon, SS, Chattanooga: Gordon’s cooled off a little bit of late, but he’s still hitting a very solid .288/.357/.440. July was his first sub-par month, as he hit just .220/.287/.308 with five extra base hits in 101 plate appearances. Every player has slumps, of course, and Gordon’s more than demonstrated that the bat is legit, particularly for a middle infielder. I don’t think Twins fans should be worried about whether he’ll eventually hit in the big leagues. I do think there are real concerns about his ability to stick at shortstop, however. He’s now committed 17 errors at shortstop in 74 games. Last season, he committed 24 errors in 103 games there. To put that in perspective, Jorge Polanco—whose defense has been mediocre this season after a nice start—has committed 11 errors in 76 games at shortstop. As I’ve mentioned a number of times in this column, errors aren’t a great defensive stat, because players with good range get to more balls, and thus are likely to commit more errors. However, Gordon’s range, based on the scouting reports I’ve read, isn’t elite. So, if his range is average and he’s committing a lot of errors, that suggests some real question marks about his ability to play the position in the big leagues. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the Twins determine his long-term position is second base. That creates a real dilemma for 2018. Although Gordon projects as an eventual star, Brian Dozier’s still probably the better MLB player next season. That is, I think the 2018 Twins would win more games with Dozier as the everyday second baseman than Gordon. So, do they keep Dozier through the last year of his contract in hopes of making a postseason push and watch him walk in free agency? Do they trade Dozier in the offseason and insert a rookie into a starting role on a postseason contender? If Gordon can’t play shortstop, there isn’t an easy answer for Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. Daniel Palka, OF, Rochester: After being out nearly two months with a fractured finger, Palka returned to the Red Wings about a week ago. The injury was a tough break for Palka, who saw much of his summer taken away. Overall on the season, he’s hitting .264/.324/.444. Those are respectable numbers, but for a bat-first corner outfielder he probably needs to hit a bit more to get a shot in the big leagues. With a career slugging percentage over .500, his track record suggests he will. Outfield is a position of strength for the Twins, with five players—Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Robbie Grossman, and Zack Granite—all making solid cases for getting regular big league at bats. Like Rosario, Kepler and Granite, Palka is also left-handed, so there’s not a real platoon opportunity for him in the big leagues right now. The hope for Palka is that he heats up in August and earns a September call-up. There’s still a lot to like in his bat. Engelb Vielma, SS, Rochester: The transition to Triple-A hasn’t been kind to Vielma. I was excited about him after he started the year hitting .286/.362/.328 at Double-A Chattanooga, earning a promotion to Rochester. If he could put up anything resembling those numbers, he could be a useful player, because his defense at shortstop is outstanding. While great defense at shortstop is an incredibly valuable skill, you still have to be able to hit a little bit, and Vielma hasn’t been able to do that so far in Triple-A. In 224 plate appearances, he’s hitting .197/.223/.230. If he’s not able to raise those numbers by the end of the year, he could be a candidate to be taken off the 40-man roster in the offseason. I think there’s a bit more in the bat than he’s shown so far in Rochester, but his track record offensively doesn’t really suggest there will be a dramatic turnaround. That’s too bad for the Twins, who continue to search for an everyday shortstop with plus defense. Hedges’ 2-run homer helps Padres to 3-0 win vs Twins (Aug 01, 2017)

Associated Press | August 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO (AP) A day after keeping All-Star reliever Brad Hand and starter Jhoulys Chacin at the trade deadline, the San Diego Padres shut down the Minnesota Twins in a pitchers’ duel. Chacin combined with two relievers on a three-hitter and Austin Hedges, who missed time recently with a concussion, hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning of a 3-0 win Tuesday night. The Padres had only two hits off Twins starter Jose Berrios and led 1-0 going into the eighth before Hunter Renfroe singled off Alan Busenitz with one out and Hedges homered to right-center, his 14th. ”You always enjoy a pitching duel,” Chacin said. ”You see Berrios how well he was pitching, how hard they were taking at-bats against him. The

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only thing you can do is try to go out and throw zeros and hopefully your team will score runs. We did in the sixth and Hedges hit the two-run homer.” Chacin (11-7) allowed three hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked two. Kirby Yates pitched a perfect eighth and Hand worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save. ”The pitching was awesome,” said Hedges, the Padres’ catcher. ”Chacin battled. His stuff was great. Everybody was really good, was on point, stuck with the game plan, executed pitches. It was a really, really good all-around team win.” Hedges said he was ”absolutely” happy the Padres held onto Hand. ”I think he threw a slider to (Miguel) Sano today and he didn’t know what that was. It was nasty,” Hedges said. Berrios (9-5) held the Padres hitless through five and allowed only one run in seven innings. Renfroe opened the sixth by beating out an infield single to third base. Hedges followed with a double to right and Manuel Margot hit a sacrifice fly with one out. Hedges was thrown out trying to reach third. Berrios had faced the minimum 15 batters until the sixth. He issued a one-out walk to Carlos Asuaje in the first before Jose Pirela hit into a double play. ”I was trying to be passive, but aggressive at the same time,” Berrios said through a translator. ”Try to throw a lot of quality pitches. They’re very aggressive and we knew that going in. That was part of the plan. Like I said, I was being passive because of that, but also attacking them. Everything was working – the fastball, the curve, the change, it was working pretty well, and that’s why it went so well.” Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said Berrios ”had a really good night. I thought he used all his pitches. He got a little unlucky on a couple fronts, that we didn’t give him any run support.” Hedges said that while he was on the disabled list, he put in some extra work on his hitting. Both his hits Tuesday night were opposite field. ”That felt really good,” he said. ”To see that work out was really cool, especially using the other field. I think when I’m hot, when I’m going good, I’m using the whole field. It allows me to stay on more pitches.” The Twins have lost three straight and seven of eight. NO SURRENDER Molitor wrote ”No retreat, no surrender” on a greaseboard in a hallway in the Twins’ clubhouse. He said he was inspired by hearing the Bruce Springsteen song ”No Surrender” on the playlist on his iPhone while on his morning walk along the waterfront. He said it summed up the Twins’ feelings after All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler was traded to Washington on Monday. Molitor said the Twins have to trust the front office. ”It makes it tough in the short term because it leaves a void that’s been more than adequately filled the whole season. I haven’t had to change closers, he’s been there almost every time there’s been a game that needs to be saved and it changes dramatically what we’re going to be doing at the end of the game to try to replace him. It’s kind of the nature of what we have to do from time to time.” Molitor said he won’t name a closer right now. TRAINER’S ROOM Twins: OF Byron Buxton was activated from the 10-day disabled list. He missed 14 games with a left groin strain. UP NEXT Twins: RHP Ervin Santana (11-7, 3.37 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday’s matinee series finale. He’s 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four career starts against the Padres.

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Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo (5-5, 4.76) is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in three interleague starts this year. Twins look for jump-start from Santana vs. Padres (Aug 02, 2017)

FOX Sports | August 2, 2017

SAN DIEGO — Ervin Santana will make the start for, surprise, Minnesota when the Twins face the San Diego Padres in a Wednesday matinee. Santana (11-7, 3.37 ERA) was among the Twins pitchers rumored to be on the move at the trade deadline. Instead, closer Brandon Kintzler was sent to the Washington Nationals and starter Jaime Garcia went to the New York Yankees. Santana stayed put, and he will place his 2-0 career record against the Padres on the line in the Twins’ final game of a dreadful road trip. Minnesota is 1-6 on the West Coast swing and has lost three straight and seven of eight overall. Santana can’t absorb much of the blame for the Twins’ dive of late. He is third in the American League in opponents’ average (.217), tied for third in wins and sixth in ERA. His last time out was a bit scratchy, but it really wasn’t that bad. He didn’t get a decision when he allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings at Dodger Stadium on July 26. Among Santana’s tasks will be taming Padres center fielder Manuel Margot. The rookie has been red hot and was recently named the National League player of the week for the first time after having six multiple hit games in a seven-start span. “He’s really good,” San Diego manager Andy Green told MLB.com. “And I think he’s going to grow because he’s committed to being as good as he can be.” What Minnesota needs to prove is it still has a pulse. Many thought the surprising Twins would be buyers, not sellers, at the deadline. After Minnesota shed two key players, manager Paul Molitor said there is no time to feel sorry. “You are a professional major league player,” Molitor said. “Any type of self-pity will only dig you a deeper hole. You come out there and try to not maybe do more than who you are, but understand that you have a chance to go out and play and put the uniform on and complete and who knows?” What the Twins know is they got cold right when the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals heated up. That changed the direction of Twins’ front office, but not the belief of the players and coaching staff in the clubhouse. “I’m certainly not losing faith that somehow we can put together some kind of run that gives us a chance to inch our way back into a potential postseason berth,” Molitor said. “I think the odds get a little longer when you lose a few of pieces, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t still accomplish what you set out to accomplish over 5 1/2 months ago.” The Padres’ goal back then was to play competitive baseball. And they have, to a point, considering they have the majors’ youngest team. One of those kids, although one in his second season, will be on the mound against the Twins: right-hander Luis Perdomo (5-5, 4.76 ERA). Perdomo will see the Twins for the first time, but he has a 2-0 mark against AL Central opponents this season. His 10 quality home starts are the second best among the Padres. In his most recent start, Perdomo gave up four runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings during a Thursday win over the New York Mets. Olney: Grading the 2017 trade deadline

Buster Olney | ESPN | August 1, 2017

The following is an excerpt from the article: Minnesota Twins: B-minus They had good intentions with their swap for Jaime Garcia, but within a few days it was clear Garcia had been added to a sinking ship. So the Twins got prospects from the Yankees for the left-hander, then traded Kintzler to the Nationals -- decent return for a reliever in his early 30s. Minnesota’s front office can now face the Twins’ players and fans and say, with a good conscience, Hey, we earnestly tried to improve.

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Is weather playing a role in MLB's record-setting home run spike this season?

Olivia Miltner | AccuWeather | August 1, 2017

The first few months of the 2017 Major League Baseball season were record-breaking. In June, players hit more than 1,100 home runs, more than in any other month in MLB history. This put the league on track for more than 6,000 home runs by the end of the season, which would smash the record set in 2000. Experts have yet to decide why the MLB has seen such a spike this season and a general increase in home runs over the past three years. Most potential explanations revolve around aspects like how baseballs are designed or if players are adjusting their swings to hit more home runs. Some believe batters are trying to increase the launch angle of their hits and the speed of their swings, which should result in more home runs. However, one topic is already known to impact home run rates in certain areas: weather. When the Colorado Rockies entered the MLB in the 1990s, people immediately noticed the number of home runs at the Rockies' stadium, Coors Field, was higher than anywhere else in the league, Alan Nathan, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Illinois, said. That was due to an atmospheric trait, lower air density, which can have a big influence on ball flight. Lower air density can help balls fly longer distances. The air is less dense at Coors Field since it sits at an elevation of 5,200 feet above sea level. “If I’m comparing Major League Baseball venues, then the most important difference is the difference between Denver and everywhere else,” Nathan said. “The Denver effect is very well known... the elevation plays a big role. It shows up pretty much immediately.” Air density has a few major components. The most influential is elevation, Nathan said, while the second is temperature. The third, humidity, plays a smaller role. “People know, players even know, understand intuitively if nothing else, that the ball simply does not carry as well in cold weather as it does in warm weather,” Nathan said. “The temperature effect is not as huge [as elevation], but it’s a big effect.” Mace Michaels, a meteorologist for the Twins, said the players and grounds crew he works with, as well as long-term baseball fans, tend to acknowledge this trend based on their own experiences and observations. “They tend to say the baseball flies better when it’s hotter or more humid,” Michaels said. These climate characteristics combine to create conditions less or more favorable for home runs in certain fields. One of Nathan’s studies, for example, looked at how climate conditions affected ball fly distance in Arizona and San Francisco. “Arizona is about 1,000 feet higher in elevation than San Francisco and has a temperature about 17 degrees warmer, both of which contribute to lower air density and therefore longer distance,” Nathan said. “What would typically be a 400-foot fly ball would travel about 10 feet farther in Arizona than it does in San Francisco, and it’s partly elevation, partly temperature.” Coors Field now keeps baseballs in a humidor, which increases the relative humidity at which baseballs are stored and lowers their "bounciness" while increasing their weight. This was meant to help balance out the elevation effect, and after the humidor's implementation, the rate of home runs was cut by 25 percent. The Arizona Diamondbacks are also considering the install of a humidor, and Nathan predicted it could reduce home runs hit at Chase Field by 37 percent, even more than in Coors Field because Phoenix has lower relative humidity than Denver. Air density and its contributing influences are well understood, but wind is anther weather condition that has a large impact on how far a ball flies. The wind's effect is especially difficult to measure. Wind conditions, Michaels and Nathan said, vary significantly, not just at specific points in time during a ball game, but also within the field itself. This makes quantitatively accounting for wind difficult, Nathan said. “A direct northwest wind in Target Field doesn’t mean all the balls that fly into left field will be knocked down," Michaels said. "The wind kind of swirls in our park, so it has a huge amount of difference. I can walk 10 feet in the outfield and have the wind at my face and 10

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feet later have the wind at my back,” Michaels said. “I’ve walked out there in all different types of wind, and you can’t even begin to figure it out.” Outdoor fields are particularly exposed to weather variability since grounds crews don’t have the same ability to control conditions during a game as indoor fields. Although weather conditions have the ability to impact how far baseballs travel, Nathan said he doubts weather-related effects are responsible for the uptick in home runs this season. Instead, he said most researchers are looking into other variables that affect how a ball flies, such as the speed at which the ball comes off the bat, the design of the baseball and the way players swing their bats. Even when looking at why some fields are considered more home run-friendly, Nathan said the explanations are usually not weather or climate related. Besides a few notable exceptions like Coors and Chase fields and Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, where summer temperatures can reach the mid-90s F, home runs in different stadiums are often affected by stadium characteristic like the size of the field and how fences are built.