Minnesota Twins Daily Clips. Saturday, April 16, 2016

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1 Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Saturday, April 16, 2016 Twins rally past Angels for first win of season. MLB.com (Bollinger and Hall) p. 1 Twins celebrate first win with postgame party. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 2 Nunez shakes off bruises to fuel Twins' rallies. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 3 Twins go all out to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 3 Weaver, Nolasco continue comebacks in series rematch. MLB.com (Hall) p. 4 Twins place reliever Abad on bereavement list. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 4 Buxton says live hitting bothers bruised hand. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 5 Twins finally win game, beat Angels to end slide at nine. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 5 Twins notes: No broken bones in Byron Buxton's left hand. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 6 Postgame: Nunez survives scary collision to provide critical hit. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 7 Twins beat Angels to end nine-game nightmare. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 Minnesota Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky: 'It's gut-wrenching' Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 9 Young Minnesota Twins are trying to learn from their misery. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 11 With Abad out of town to attend a funeral, Twins will call up a reliever ESPN (Wetmore) p. 13 Twins get first win, edge Angels 5-4. Associated Press p. 14 Twins rally past Angels for first win of season Rhett Bollinger and Brian Hall MLB.com April 16, 2016 The Twins got their first win of the season and it came in comeback fashion, as they rallied for two runs in the seventh before Byung Ho Park put in them in front with an RBI double in the eighth in a 5-4 win over the Angels on Friday night at Target Field. The Twins (1-9) trailed by two in the seventh after Albert Pujols' game-tying homer and Kole Calhoun's two-run blast that knocked lefty Tommy Milone from the game. But Minnesota showed resolve, tying it with two runs in the seventh against four Angels relievers. Eduardo Nunez sparked the rally with an RBI double before scoring on a two-out single from Joe Mauer. "It was much-needed and a tough game going back-and-forth late," manager Paul Molitor said. "We hung in there and some guys got some big hits, which is a good thing. So 1-9 is better than It's a start and we gotta find a way to back it up a little bit, but nice to get the first one out of the way." Trevor Plouffe opened the eighth with a single off reliever Fernando Salas before coming around to score on a one-out double down the leftfield line from Park. Kevin Jepsen threw a scoreless ninth against his former team to pick up the save. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Nunez paces offense: Nunez went 4-for-4 in his first start of the season against the Royals on Sunday, and served as a sparkplug again on Friday, going 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. He scored the tying run in the sixth on an RBI double from Sano, and keyed a two-run rally in the seventh with an RBI double. Mauer came through with a two-out single to score Nunez to tie the score at 4. Nunez is hitting.778 (7-for-9) this season.

2 "To help the team win is the best feeling ever," Nunez said. "If I had three hits and we lost, that means nothing. So I'm feeling pretty good." Walking without a cause: The Angels missed a prime chance to take control in the eighth when Twins reliever Trevor May walked the bases loaded. Mike Trout and Pujols walked to open the inning before Pujols was retired on a fielder's choice grounder from C.J. Cron. May followed with another walk of Calhoun, but reliever Casey Fien retired Andrelton Simmons on a flyout to end the threat. Scary collision ends up OK: The Twins had an unnerving situation to open the fourth, when Yunel Escobar hit a shallow fly ball to right field, and right fielder Miguel Sano collided with second baseman Eduardo Nunez as he charged in to make the play. Joe Mauer retrieved the ball and made a nice throw to third base to get Escobar. Nunez was looked at by trainer Tony Leo, but remained in the game. "Sano hit me in my head, my neck, and also got me with his spike on my calf," Nunez said. "And then I got hit on the elbow. So it was a tough night." Catcher speed: The Angels opened the scoring in the sixth when catcher Carlos Perez showed off a bit of speed. Perez started the inning with a soft single to center field. But when Minnesota's Eddie Rosario bobbled the ball slightly, Perez accelerated quickly and got to second. Perez later scored on a double by Yunel Escobar. The Angels finished the game just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. "I thought on the offensive side we did a lot more than the game's going to show," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We had a lot of opportunities and that's a good sign. We've got to keep that going. It's good to see a couple guys drive the ball also." QUOTABLE "I'm not really much of an emotional guy out there. I always try to keep it calm and quiet, but when I got to second base and saw Trevor coming home to score that run, without thinking I threw my hands in the air and let out a scream there. But that's just how much it meant to me and the fans in the stands. It was a good feeling." -- Park, on getting the game-winning hit "I can't worry about that stuff. I need to take the ball every fifth day and go give us a chance to win. That's pretty much my only goal; fill up the zone, keep guys off-balance, move the ball in and out, establish the inside part of the plate so when the bullpen comes in after me, that's already done. There's so many games to be played. It's early in the season and we're kind of getting our roll going. The offense is starting to go, the defense is playing well, so we'll just build off of this one. It's unfortunate we couldn't' win, but it's part of baseball." -- Richards, on the team losing each of his three starts SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Twins avoided becoming the seventh team since 1900 to open a season with 10 straight losses. Their nine straight defeats to open the year set a franchise record. WHAT'S NEXT Angels: Jered Weaver will make his second start of the season -- looking to replicate his victory against the Rangers -- in the middle game of this series at Target Field on Saturday at 11:10 a.m. PT. On April 10, Weaver pitched six innings and allowed just one run with four strikeouts vs. Texas. The right-hander is one strikeout shy of 1,500 for his career, which would make him the third player in franchise history to reach the mark. Twins: Right-hander Ricky Nolasco gets the start for the Twins on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. CT against the Angels, and is coming off a strong outing against the Royals in his season debut. Nolasco allowed one run over seven innings with five strikeouts and no walks in a no-decision. Twins celebrate first win with postgame party Rhett Bollinger MLB.com April 16, 2016 The fog machine and strobe lights had sat unused under a table in the Twins' clubhouse, as they dropped their first nine games of the season. But Minnesota came to life on Friday night, and so did the postgame dance party, as the Twins rallied late for a much-needed 5-4 win over the Angels at Target Field. Korean slugger Byung Ho Park delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning, and naturally served as the lead dancer in front of his giddy teammates who finally had a victory to celebrate. Manager Paul Molitor generally stays away from the dance parties, letting his players have their fun, but poked his head in to see what the vibe was like and whether Park could dance. His verdict? "I only got a glimpse and that was plenty," Molitor said with a smile. 2

3 Molitor wasn't the only one smiling after the game, as Twins players felt a collective sigh of relief after getting their first win. Park was the hero, and explained he couldn't hold in his joy after delivering the clutch hit in the eighth. "I'm not really much of an emotional guy out there," Park said through translator J.D. Kim. "I always try to keep it calm and quiet, but when I got to second base and saw Trevor [Plouffe] coming home to score that run, without thinking I threw my hands in the air and let out a scream there. But that's just how much it meant to me and the fans in the stands. It was a good feeling." The Twins showed resolve in their first victory, as they took a 2-1 lead in the sixth, only to see it evaporate quickly with a pair of homers from Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun in the seventh to fall behind by two runs. But they tied it in the seventh -- keyed by two-out hits from Eduardo Nunez and Joe Mauer -- before taking the lead in the eighth on Park's double. "It feels good and it was a good win," Plouffe said. "It wasn't an easy win. It's not like we won, They came back with that seventh inning to take the wind out of our sails, but we battled back. So a win like this, I feel like can really get us going." Nunez was the sparkplug in a rare start atop the lineup, going 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, and said he believes the victory is a sign of what's to come for the Twins, who had high expectations coming into the season. "That was huge tonight," Nunez said. "For us to come back, that's who we are. We fight and we keep battling to the end. That's us. We're going to get through this. We're going to get back." Nunez shakes off bruises to fuel Twins' rallies Rhett Bollinger MLB.com April 16, 2016 Eduardo Nunez has become a secret weapon off the bench. After Nunez went 4-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch in his first start on Sunday against the Royals, Twins manager Paul Molitor was looking for a spark against the Angels on Friday night, and went with Nunez atop the lineup and at second base to give Brian Dozier a rare day off. The decision worked out perfectly, as Nunez went 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, an RBI and two runs scored to help the Twins take a 5-4 victory. "To help the team win is the best feeling ever," Nunez said. "If I had three hits and we lost, that means nothing. So I'm feeling pretty good." Nunez has been impressive at the plate, hitting.778 (7-for-9), and has yet to make an out in either of his two starts. But it's come at a cost, as he was hit by a fastball on his forearm from Royals closer Wade Davis on Sunday, and was plunked on the elbow by a 95-mph fastball from Angels starter Garrett Richards in the sixth inning on Friday. Nunez also collided with right fielder Miguel Sano on a scary play in the fourth on a shallow pop fly from Yunel Escobar, but Nunez remained in the game despite being hit in the head by Sano's elbow and taking a cleat off his calf. "He's had a couple nice games when we've got him in there and he got a lot of TV time tonight with injuries," Molitor said with a smile. "He's keeping me in shape. But that collision, I was fearing the worst because it didn't look good live. Thankfully, no severe injuries. That's a big man to run into out there." Despite the collision and the hit-by-pitch, Nunez helped spark two key rallies. He led off the sixth being plunked by Richards and scored on a game-tying double from Miguel Sano. And in the seventh, Nunez brought the Twins within one run with an RBI double before scoring the tying run on a two-out single from Joe Mauer. "He's been great for us," third baseman Trevor Plouffe said. "And he's been a warrior. I think he leads the league in trainer visits. But he's been great and was a big spark for us today." Twins go all out to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day Rhett Bollinger MLB.com April 15, 2016 The Twins celebrated the 69th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier with a pregame ceremony before Friday's game against the Angels on Jackie Robinson Day at Target Field. 3

4 The Twins showed a video honoring Robinson and highlighting his impact on baseball, while Jackie Robinson Essay winners were also presented with their awards. With Robinson in mind, the Twins also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Twins Community Fund, which benefits the Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) Program. Additionally, as has been tradition every April 15 since 2009, Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day with all players and on-field personnel wearing No. 42. Robinson's No. 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in "What Jackie Robinson did was more for our country than it was for baseball," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who played his entire 13-year career with the Dodgers. "Unfortunately, I never had the privilege to meet Jackie Robinson, but I've had a lot of talks with a lot of his teammates. I think he represents everything that this country's about, and I think we're very privileged and all proud to wear No. 42 today." Twins rookie center fielder Byron Buxton, who is African-American, said it was an honor to wear No. 42, but was held out of the starting lineup with a bruised left hand. "He fought for what he did to come out here and play," Buxton said. "If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be able to play this game. A lot can be said about it, but I'm just glad I'm able to have the opportunity to come out here and play this game every day, and not only try to make myself better, but also make other people better." Weaver, Nolasco continue comebacks in series rematch Brian Hall MLB.com April 15, 2016 Two veteran pitchers will try to show their strong opening outings were the start of bounce-back seasons when Angels ace Jered Weaver faces Twins right-hander Ricky Nolasco in the middle game of the weekend series on Saturday at Target Field. Weaver is coming off his first losing season for the Angels, going 7-12 with a 4.64 ERA in 26 starts last season. The right-hander started his 2016 campaign with a win against Texas, logging six innings and giving up just one earned run. Nolasco allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings against Kansas City, but ended up with a no-decision after the Twins' bullpen blew a lead. Nolasco is with a 5.49 ERA for Minnesota since signing a four-year, $48 million contract before the 2014 season, and he held on to his rotation spot over Tyler Duffey despite a 5.71 spring ERA. Things to know about this game Brian Dozier is expected back in the lineup for the Twins after Eduardo Nunez made the start at second base on Friday. Dozier is hitting.152 this season with one home run and one RBI. With 584 career doubles, Angels slugger Albert Pujols is one shy of tying Rafael Palmeiro for the 18th all-time in Major League history. Left-handed reliever Ryan O'Rourke is expected to join Minnesota for Saturday's game after Fernando Abad was placed on the bereavement list. Twins place reliever Abad on bereavement list Rhett Bollinger MLB.com April 15, 2016 The Twins placed lefty reliever Fernando Abad on the bereavement list before Friday's 5-4 win over the Angels, as he'll miss the three-game weekend series after the death of his grandmother. Minnesota will make a corresponding roster move before Saturday's game, but it's likely to be fellow lefty reliever Ryan O'Rourke, who is on the 40-man roster. Abad, 30, has been a solid addition to the bullpen, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings in five appearances this season. Abad, who was signed as a Minor League free agent in the offseason, has struck out four and walked two. O'Rourke was the one of the final cuts in Spring Training, and got his first taste of the Majors last year, posting a 6.14 ERA in 28 outings. The 27- year-old struck out 24 and walked 15 in 22 innings. 4

5 Buxton says live hitting bothers bruised hand Rhett Bollinger MLB.com April 15, 2016 Twins center fielder Byron Buxton said his bruised left hand felt better on Friday, but it still affects him when facing live pitching, so he was held out of the lineup in a 5-4 win over the Angels at Target Field. Buxton, who was hit on his left hand with a 90-mph fastball from White Sox right-hander Mat Latos in Thursday's 3-1 loss, underwent X-rays on Friday that came back negative and was diagnosed with a bruised hand. Buxton said he believes he could come off the bench as a pinch-runner or for defensive purposes, but admitted his hand is a bit swollen and he can still feel it while hitting. "I'm glad it's not as bad as it looked," Buxton said. "I hit off the tee and did flips and that felt pretty good. I took live BP and it stung a little bit. But not too bad. I went out and did some shagging and that wasn't too bad either." Manager Paul Molitor, who said he believes Buxton will be out of the lineup for three to five days, added he doesn't expect Buxton will see any action on Friday, but was glad to hear he was doing better. "I think it's fairly unlikely he'll get an at-bat," Molitor said. "I think it would be uncomfortable for him to see live pitching." With Buxton held out of the lineup, Eddie Rosario started in center field. It was the first start in center for Rosario this season, and the fourth time in his career. It allowed Oswaldo Arcia to start in left field. Worth noting With the offense scuffling, Molitor shuffled his lineup, opting to give second baseman Brian Dozier a rare night off, as Eduardo Nunez started at second base instead. Dozier played in 157 games last year, and didn't miss his first game until April 29, 2015, as part of a doubleheader. Outfielder David Murphy, who was signed to a Minor League deal on Thursday, officially joined Triple-A Rochester's roster on Friday. Murphy gives the Twins outfield depth, as their young outfielders Miguel Sano, Rosario and Buxton have struggled so far this season and backup outfielder Danny Santana is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Molitor, though, said the club hasn't discussed sending down any of its young outfielders this early in the season. Pitching prospect Kohl Stewart, the club's first-round pick in the 2013 Draft, is off to a hot start at Class A Advanced Fort Myers. Stewart has a 1.50 ERA in two outings with 13 strikeouts in 12 innings, including throwing six shutout innings on Thursday. Stewart, ranked as the club's No. 7 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, had a 3.20 ERA at Fort Myers last year, but struck out 71 in 129 1/3 innings. Twins finally win game, beat Angels to end slide at nine Phil Miller Star Tribune April 16, 2016 Byung Ho Park isn t an emotional ballplayer, he says. He likes to stay calm and low-key on the diamond. But with nine losses worth of frustration built up, with a season-opening slump that has infected him and all his teammates finally broken, Park couldn t help himself Friday. When I got to second base and saw Trevor [Plouffe] coming home and scoring that [go-ahead] run, without thinking I threw my hands in the air and let out a little scream right there, Park said via a translator. It just came. And who could blame him? Park s eighth-inning double into the corner scored Plouffe and delivered the Twins a 5-4 victory over the Angels, their first after a franchise-worst 0-9 start to the season. It was a good win. It wasn t an easy win. We battled back after twice falling behind Los Angeles, Plouffe said. A win like this, I think will definitely get us going. Their pulse growing alarmingly faint, even with just a fraction of the season gone, the Twins proved that they are not quite finished yet. They took a brief lead, clawed its way back when it slipped away and finally earned their first dance party of the season, starring the South Korean rookie. 5

6 When I was stepping into the clubhouse, I heard the music playing loud, Park said, so that really made me feel good. Better than his victory dance, apparently. I only got a glimpse, manager Paul Molitor said, and that was plenty. Eduardo Nunez collected three hits, and probably twice that many bruises, in sparking the Twins from the leadoff spot, where he filled in for the slumping Brian Dozier for a night. He doubled home a run in the seventh inning, but also was hit on the elbow by a pitch. And in the fourth inning, Nunez took the brunt of a fearsome collision with Miguel Sano in right field. Hit in the face by an elbow, struck on the knee by Sano s knee, Nunez laid on the ground for a couple of minutes, while Joe Mauer picked up the ricocheted ball and threw out Yunel Escobar at third base. I was fearing the worst, because it sure didn t look good live, Molitor said. It s an easy play to tear something in your knee or ankle. We got lucky there. The luck was going both ways all night. Tommy Milone was brilliant through the first five innings, but he slipped in the sixth, when Carlos Perez hit a leadoff single and went to second when the ball glanced off center fielder Eddie Rosario s glove. A sacrifice moved Perez to third, and he scored easily on Escobar s double, giving the Angels what felt like an insurmountable 1-0 lead. But the Twins did something they have avoided during their wretched 0-9 start: They struck back. After Nunez was hit by a pitch, he moved to second on a grounder, then tied the score when Miguel Sano laced a double to left ending a streak of 19 consecutive hitless at-bats by the Twins with runners in scoring position. When Plouffe followed with a double over Mike Trout s head in center, the Twins owned their first lead since the ninth inning Sunday at Kansas City, albeit just 2-1. It didn t last long. We squandered the lead, Molitor said. I believe we had it about five minutes. When Milone took the mound to face the heart of the Los Angeles order for a third time, it didn t go well. Albert Pujols launched a changeup deep into the right-field seats, tying the score. After C.J. Cron walked, Kole Calhoun crushed one even farther, turning the Twins brief and rare advantage into a 4-2 Angels lead. Then the improbable happened: the Twins rallied again. Rosario drew a one-out walk off Greg Mahle, just the free-swinging outfielder s second walk of the season. Two batters later, Nunez doubled to left bringing his batting average to a crisp.778 (7-for-9) for the year and Rosario hustled around to score from first. When Mauer followed with a single, Nunez scored to make it 4-4. Twins notes: No broken bones in Byron Buxton's left hand Phil Miller Star Tribune April 16, 2016 As Byron Buxton prepared to have his left hand X-rayed Thursday, the technicians examining him prepared him for the worst. "The first thing they said was, 'Lot of bones in your hands,' " Buxton said. So consider it an overdue injury-related stroke of luck for the Twins rookie outfielder that those X-rays found all of those bones intact. Buxton clearly does. "Very lucky," Buxton said. "I'm glad it wasn't as bad as it looked." The Twins believe Buxton's hitting isn't as bad as it's looked so far this season, too, but in a results-oriented occupation like baseball, it might not matter. The 22-year-old phenom is 4-for-24 (.167) for the season, with no walks and 13 strikeouts. With David Murphy preparing for a potential call-up to Minnesota later this month, Buxton is a candidate for assignment to the minors if he doesn't start hitting. "It's not so much that I don't think he can handle it. At some point, you try to figure out what you're going to do to make your team better as a whole," manager Paul Molitor said. "We haven't talked at all about roster moves or anything like that. I know people are starting to suggest it might be imminent with our [1-9] start." Buxton's attitude hasn't wavered, though, the manager said, even though he's had only two hits in a week. "At some point, you would consider his mental part of the game and how it's affecting him. But I think he's as strong as anybody we have, as far as makeup and being able to handle failure and learning from it," Molitor said. "I had a good chat with him yesterday after the game. [He has] a lot of frustration with the injuries. 6

7 It's emotional for him, the fact that at times the game gets taken away by things he can't control." Molitor can relate to that. He missed virtually the entire 1984 season and was plagued with injuries throughout his career. "I know what it's like, so I try to extend a few [observations] in that regard to him yesterday," he said. "We're seeing progress. It's just a matter of him trying to get some results so he feels a little bit better about his offensive game." Buxton hit off a tee and did some flip drills in the batting cage on Friday and reported his bruised hand still stings. But it shouldn't be more than a day or two until he returns, he said, and he came in on defense in the ninth inning of Friday's game. Abad on leave Lefthander Fernando Abad left the Twins after receiving word that his grandmother had died in the Dominican Republic. He will be placed on the bereavement list Saturday, General Manager Terry Ryan said, and a relief pitcher will be summoned from Class AAA Rochester to fill his spot for two days. Abad is scheduled to return Monday morning, Ryan said. Both the Twins and Angels wore red jerseys Friday, a mix-up caused indirectly by the tradition of all players wearing No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day. As the home team (which designates which uniform they will wear first), the Twins informed the Angels and Majestic, manufacturer of the teams' uniforms, that they planned to wear red (as they plan to all home Fridays). But the Angels, who frequently wear solid red on the road, also asked for red jerseys, and Majestic didn't catch the red-vs.-red matchup. By the time Majestic noticed this week, it was too late to provide gray No. 42 uniforms for the entire team, so MLB decided to allow the teams to wear similar jerseys, though the Twins wore white pants and the Angels gray The Twins held their annual Welcome Back luncheon Friday for boosters and sponsors, a meeting made a little awkward by the team's recordbreaking start. "It was a good crowd. Understanding, I think, [but] not content," Ryan said. "It's a little difficult facing the people you're trying to play for right now." Postgame: Nunez survives scary collision to provide critical hit Phil Miller Star Tribune April 16, 2016 Eduardo Nunez leads the league in trainer visits, Trevor Plouffe said, but that s OK. He also leads the Twins in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, too. On a team where only two other players, Joe Mauer and Eduardo Escobar, are batting above.200, Nunez improved to 7-for-9 this season (.778) by going 3-for-3 on Friday, including an RBI double that sparked a Twins rally in the seventh inning. It s the best feeling ever, Nunez said of his big night. If you have three hits and we lost, it s nothing. It s a wonder he can remember it, though, given how close he came to disaster in the fourth inning. When Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar lifted a pop fly into short right, Nunez collided with an onrushing 275-pound Miguel Sano. He hit me in my head and my knee, and a spike in my calf, Nunez said. For 10 seconds, I was dizzy. I didn t even know what was going on. Joe Mauer picked up the loose baseball and made a perfect throw to Plouffe at third base to retire Escobar. Then trainer Dave Pruemer and manager Paul Molitor rushed to the outfield to see if their utility infielder had a pulse. He got a lot of TV time with injuries tonight. He s keeping me in shape a little bit, Molitor joked. I was fearing the worst, because it sure didn t look good live. It s an easy play to tear something in your knee or ankle, or dislocate something. We got lucky there. And they got lucky that Nunez refused to come out of the game. I told Mollie, don t try to take me out of the game, he said. I want to stay here. He did, and two innings later got on base the hard way by taking a 95-mph Garrett Richards fastball off his elbow. After moving up on Mauer s ground out, that put him in position to score the Twins first run, though, when Sano doubled into the left-field corner and broke the Twins 19-at-bat hitless streak with runners in scoring position. 7

8 And an inning later, he doubled himself, knocking in Eddie Rosario, then scored the tying run on Mauer s single. That was huge tonight. Especially after we were up and they hit a couple of homers to retake the lead, Nunez said. That s who we are. We fight. We re still battling. That s us. We re going to be back. XXX The Twins got a break on Byung Ho Park s eighth-inning double, which scored Trevor Plouffe from first base with the go-ahead run. Plouffe, not the fastest Twins runner, was nearing third base when Angels left fielder Craig Gentry mishandled Park s line drive, and Plouffe simply rounded the base and headed home, beating Gentry s throw by a couple of steps. We haven t caught a lot of breaks, but that was one, Molitor said. That bobble was probably the difference between him scoring and not scoring. XXX Well, maybe it was the bobble. Maybe there was another explanation. You saw those high socks today, right? Plouffe asked afterward, pointing out his old-time, streak-breaking pants fashion. He s definitely planning to wear his socks high again Saturday, Plouffe said. Hey, maybe the Twins can all wear No. 42 again. It worked once. The Twins finally got their first win on Friday even without a big offensive breakout. Sure, their five runs were a season-high (by two runs!), but they did it by scoring two runs in the sixth and seventh innings, and one run in the eighth. The Twins still haven t scored more than two runs in any inning this year, the only team in the majors to be so scoring-challenged. And the Angels aided Minnesota s cause with three walks and a hit batter. (Eddie Rosario, incidentally, walked twice for just the second time in his career. In both cases Friday and last Aug. 1 one of the walks was intentional.) That helped, because the Twins still never collected more than two hits in an inning, something they have managed only twice in the 90 innings in which they ve batted this year. The Twins have gone 39 innings without more than two hits in an inning, which last occurred in the sixth inning of Sunday s game in Kansas City. Twins beat Angels to end nine-game nightmare Mike Berardino Pioneer Press April 15, 2016 As he cruised into second base with an eighth-inning double on Friday night, Byung Ho Park looked back over his left shoulder and saw Trevor Plouffe sliding home with the go-ahead run. At that moment, having put the previously winless Twins on their way to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels, Park lost his composure just a bit for the first time since coming to the major leagues. I m not really much of an emotional guy out there, Park said through his interpreter. I m not really a body language guy. I always try to keep it calm and quiet. But without thinking I was throwing my hands in the air. I kind of gave a little scream. It could have been a primal scream for all the frustration this nine-game losing streak to open the season had caused the Twins. It just came, Park said. That s how much that meant, not just to me but to the fans in the stands. It was a good feeling. Kevin Jepsen worked the ninth for his first save. The Angels put the tying run on third with two outs, but Jepsen struck out pinch hitter Daniel Nava to end the game, and for the first time in 2016 the Win, Twins! fight song wasn t some cruel punch line. One and nine is better than 0-10, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. It s a start. With a 10th consecutive loss to start the season, the Twins (1-9) would have moved into a tie for fifth-longest skid since Only the 1988 Baltimore Orioles (0-21), 1997 Chicago Cubs (0-14), 1920 Detroit Tigers (0-13) and 2002 Tigers (0-11) have started a season with more than 10 straight losses. 8

9 Despite below-average speed, Plouffe was able to score from first on Park s full-count double off right-hander Fernando Salas. Craig Gentry, considered a defensive specialist, failed to come up with the ball cleanly in the left-field corner, and third-base coach Gene Glynn waved Plouffe home. I felt fast, Plouffe said. I don t know how I looked, but I got the job done. That s all that really matters, right? Molitor, who had Brian Dozier on the bench, considered pinch-running for Plouffe but opted to stick with him. Until he saw a replay later, Plouffe didn t realize Gentry had bobbled the ball. I was feeling myself a little there until I saw he bobbled it, Plouffe said. That kind of brought me down a notch. Apparently I needed it. After scoring just 14 combined runs through their first nine games, the Twins exceeded three runs for the first time this season. Before Friday, their only two multi-run innings had come on Opening Day in Baltimore (two-run seventh) and on Sunday in Kansas City (two-run sixth). Twins starter Tommy Milone took a shutout into the sixth before Eddie Rosario s fielding error in center opened the door for the Angels first run. Yunel Escobar delivered a one-out double to snap a scoreless tie. After the Twins went ahead in the bottom of the sixth on consecutive run-scoring doubles by Miguel Sano and Plouffe ending a 5 for 68 (.074) start with runners in scoring position the Angels chased Milone with a pair of homers by Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun in the seventh. Fireballer Garrett Richards left after six innings and 104 pitches, and the Twins got to the Angels bullpen for the tying runs in the seventh. Rosario worked a one-out walk and scored on Eduardo Nunez s two-out double to left. Joe Mauer followed with a game-tying single to left in his first career look at Angels lefty Jose Alvarez. Nunez, filling in at second, has made two starts this season and has yet to make an out in those games. He went 4 for 4 with a hit by pitch in Kansas City on Sunday, then followed up with a 3-for-3 showing (plus another hit batter) on Friday. Nunez also survived a scare in the fourth. Chasing a Yunel Escobar flare into short right field, Nunez collided with a hard-charging Sano. As Mauer raced out from first to grab the ball and catch Escobar trying for third, Nunez writhed on the ground in obvious pain. Sano, meanwhile, flipped over Nunez and landed hard on his left side. Sano popped right back up, but Nunez stayed down for a few minutes after taking an elbow off his head and getting spiked on his calf. I was dizzy the first five to 10 seconds, Nunez said. I didn t even know what was going on. My neck was killing me. But when you help the team win, that s the best feeling ever. Minnesota Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky: 'It's gut-wrenching' Mike Berardino Pioneer Press April 15, 2016 Watching his offense struggle this badly is as tough on Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky as you might expect. It s gut-wrenching, he said. We re searching. Among Twins regulars, only Joe Mauer and Eduardo Escobar are off to good starts. So the other seven, you look at those at-bats per game, I wear every one, said Brunansky, the former Twins all-star outfielder who is starting his fourth season as the big-league hitting coach. Entering Friday s game against the Los Angeles Angels, the Twins were last in the majors with 14 runs and an.076 batting average with runners in scoring position (5 for 66). What does Brunansky tell his struggling hitters? You have to make sure you almost desensitize everything, he said. You have to make it simpler. You have to go back to simplicity and basics and clear the head: Hey, let s just go back to who we are. See ball, hit ball, and then start from there. 9

10 As much as Brunansky and assistant hitting coach Rudy Hernandez want to see baseball s least-productive lineup succeed, they know it s important to stay calm. It weighs on you, Brunansky said. You look at video. You try not to overanalyze a lot of things because when you start to do that, then you re starting to look and get so nitpicky about it. If the guys were getting hits and they were swinging the bats and doing the same thing, you wouldn t say anything. You ve got to be real careful not to go there and try to overcoach or to try to let the guys know. They know. They know that we care and that they re trying hard. We understand that. We can t go overboard and all of a sudden make it something else. Having managed just two runs in their past 30 innings, dating to Sunday in Kansas City, the Twins lineup is understandably pressing. I remind them it s baseball, Brunansky said. They all have their own experiences. I want them to understand this is the game, and the game is a tough game. It s a humbling game. You have to treat it with respect in the sense that you re not bigger or better than the game. Every time you think you ve got it mastered, you re going to get a quick piece of humble pie. After piling up 72 strikeouts in the first six games, the Twins averaged just 7.3 whiffs in getting swept by the Chicago White Sox. So at least there are some signs of progress. The first six games, there weren t a lot (of quality at-bats), Brunansky said. I won t say we gave at-bats away, but we chased a lot of pitches out of the zone and made it easier on the guy on the mound. Recently, I m seeing quality. I m seeing some better at-bats and approaches and swings, and I m seeing ways that they ve taken pitches that were better. Unfortunately, it hasn t correlated yet to hits, and it hasn t shown up on the scoreboard, which is frustrating. But I see some balls that are hit hard, and I see some things I like. He smiled before excusing himself to get back to work. It s going to turn, and we know that, he said. We know that because that s the game. BUXTON BETTER Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (bruised left hand) was likely available off the bench Friday night for pinch running or defensive duties, but swinging a bat is still somewhat painful. Buxton, who left Thursday s game after taking a Mat Latos pitch off his hand, hit off the tee and worked his way up to live batting practice early Friday afternoon. While Buxton said those swings stung a little bit, but not too bad, Twins manager Paul Molitor noted his rookie outfielder was a little uncomfortable after making contact. Whatever Mollie thinks I m able to do, that s what I m going to do, Buxton said. He has been receiving treatment in the form of ice and an electronic stimulation machine, but the back of Buxton s hand remained swollen Friday afternoon. When it was mentioned he was lucky, he smiled and agreed. Oh, yeah, he said. Very. That s the first thing (team trainers) said: You ve got a lot of bones in your hands. DOZIER SITS Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, off to a.167 start through 24 at-bats, was left out of Friday s starting lineup in favor of Eduardo Nunez. There was no injury component to the move. Nor, Dozier said, does he feel out of sorts at the plate. Molitor said he was merely trying to spread off days around his struggling lineup. Only shortstop Eduardo Escobar has started every game in the field so far; first baseman Joe Mauer has served as designated hitter twice. 10

11 Brian is a big part of what we do here, Molitor said, and he will continue to be. Nunez was plugged into Dozier s usual leadoff spot as Molitor resisted the temptation to draw the lineup out of a hat, something the late Billy Martin and other skippers have done amid prolonged downturns. I ve been in droughts where it s been considered, but I don t think you do anybody justice by doing that, Molitor said. They say the combination of the nine people you play really doesn t affect your potential run output that much, but there should be a little bit of logic to your madness. BRIEFLY Twins reliever Fernando Abad left the team Friday to attend the funeral of his grandmother on Saturday in the Dominican Republic. Abad, due back for Monday s game, will be placed on the bereavement list. Lefty Ryan O Rourke is expected to be called up from Triple-A Rochester to take Abad s place. Twins utility man Danny Santana (hamstring) hit on the field and ran both outside and in the training pool. He is eligible to come off the disabled list as soon as April 25. MRI results on the shoulder of Twins closer Glen Perkins were sent to Dr. Timothy Kremchek, team physician for the Cincinnati Reds, for a second opinion. That was done at the request of Perkins agents, Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. According to Bovada.com, Molitor is 4-1 to be the first manager fired this season. Fredi Gonzalez of the 0-9 Atlanta Braves is the evenmoney favorite, followed by Walt Weiss (7-2) of the Colorado Rockies. Terry Collins was 8-1 despite leading the New York Mets to the World Series last year. Joe Girardi (10-1), Mike Scioscia (12-1) and Don Mattingly (25-1) also made the highly speculative list. Twins pitchers took early batting practice again before Friday s game in advance of next week s five-game interleague road trip to Milwaukee and Washington. After that, the Twins won t play in a National League park until Aug in Atlanta. Young Minnesota Twins are trying to learn from their misery Mike Berardino Pioneer Press April 15, 2016 What doesn t kill you makes you stronger. Kelly Clarkson Amid their record-breaking futility to start the 2016 season, the youthful Twins roster is gleaning valuable lessons that should pay dividends down the road. That might not offer much solace to a frazzled fan base in the short term, and it s certainly not much comfort to those banking on the Twins to unseat the Kansas City Royals in a loaded American League Central, but it truly is all part of the process. Just look at the Twins starting outfield of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario. While all three saw significant big-league time last season, with Sano and Rosario distinguishing themselves at the plate, their average age remains just At 24, Rosario is the elder statesman of the group. No wonder the Twins went out and signed 34-year-old journeyman David Murphy to a minor-league contract this week. The sort of guidance he might be able to provide could prove invaluable to a group that is experiencing so many things for the first time at the game s highest level. I think the more experienced guys have handled it better than the less experienced guys, Twins manager Paul Molitor said of the slow start on offense. I think people that have a little more of a track record of dealing with the ups and downs don t get overwhelmed by a short number of at-bats, even if it s at the start of the season. Some of the other people that are still in the process of getting established, they re the ones that we re having a little more trouble slowing down. It s about trying to take each at-bat as a new opportunity. It s not just the outfielders, of course. Less than two weeks into the season, the Twins already had used 13 pitchers and players with less than three years of big-league service time. Ten of those had yet to reach the two-year threshold in terms of service time. The mind can be fragile when you re trying to become a major league player, Molitor said, and trust that you re going to be able to go out there and perform in all circumstances against all different types of major league pitching on a day-to-day basis. JUST REMEMBER 11

12 So dominant after moving to the bullpen last July, Trevor May has been forced to learn from failure multiple times already this season. First, the 26-year-old right-hander uncorked the game-turning wild pitch from a rain-soaked mound in Baltimore, completing the first of three straight series sweeps the Twins have suffered thus far. Three days later in Kansas City, May bounced a two-strike, two-out curveball to Lorenzo Cain that resulted in another wild pitch and completed a 10-inning loss to the Royals. As speedster Terrance Gore slid home with the winning run, May was left face down in the dirt, the personification of the Twins early-season frustration. He slapped the ground in anger with his pitching hand. After clambering to his feet, May strode angrily off the field and covered his face with his glove and screamed with every bit of rage inside of him. The pain didn t go away for days. We sat in the clubhouse after that game, and I told a few guys, Just remember how you feel right now, May recalled. I said, I m going to remember how I feel, and when I m out there in a situation where I need to throw a zero in the 10th, or pick a guy up who maybe didn t have a great day, or just keep it close because we re coming back and getting the momentum, I m going to recall how I felt. May had opened the door for the Royals winning rally with a four-pitch walk to light-hitting Christian Colon, followed by a bounced pickoff throw to first that allowed Gore, the pinch runner, to race all the way to third. I made costly mistakes, some stuff there s no excuse for and I don t have any excuses for, May said. Throwing the ball to first, that kid s never been caught stealing, I don t think. You ve got to keep him there with a bunch of guys who love to drop singles in with guys on second, and he s probably the fastest guy in the league. You ve just got to rein in those weapons, and I didn t do it. HOLDING BACK Buxton knows he s fast. Despite his humility, the Twins fleet center fielder knows he s among the fastest players in the modern game. He also knows how much the Twins want to see him put the ball in play as opposed to the 50-percent strikeout rate he posted (13 in 26 plate appearances) through the first nine games. I think he s heard me talk about the bunting game, Molitor said. It s been kind of a non-stop thing for me to try to reiterate to him. We have a lot of confidence in the hitter he s trying to become but in the interim here, while he s trying to figure some things out, it s a weapon that needs to be part of the things he does. And yet, with a few small exceptions, there is reticence on Buxton s part. You almost have to tell him, Molitor said with a thin smile. You don t want to have to tell guys when to bunt for a hit. When he gets it down, anything can happen. It doesn t have to be a perfect bunt. Just give himself a chance. There have been extra sessions in the batting cage and on the field, but once the game starts, it s becomes to borrow a frequent Molitor-ism exponentially more difficult. We re working on things with him to try to get him to put the ball in play on more of his swings, Molitor said, but even if the corners are in, even if everybody knows he s going to do it, he can still find a way to get some bunt base hits. We re trying to get him to keep that in his arsenal. When Camden Yards thick infield grass ideal bunting grass was pointed out to Buxton during the opening series, he shook his head and smiled. Yeah, I know, he said. I know. So why wasn t he able to pull the trigger and use his speed rather than pile up six strikeouts in those first three losses, half of those coming on Opening Day? 12

13 I thought about it, he said. For some reason, when I m going up there or whatever, you take the look (at the corner infielders). I took a look. Virtually every time, Orioles all-star third baseman Manny Machado was already creeping in before Buxton even had a chance to step into the batter s box. I m like, Shoot, he s already in the grass, Buxton said. I was, like, All right, just put it on the ground. I think me sitting there telling myself, You need to just put it on the ground (was a problem). You can t go up there thinking about that. You just have to go up there and see the ball. Just have to put it in a good spot. OVERCOMING FEAR Once they emerge from this fortnight of funk, once they start to string together a few victories, the youthful Twins should be better for the experience. It s not like all of these players suddenly forgot how to play the game. It s not as though some alien abduction zapped their rare talent and left them mere humanoid shells of their former selves. It s just a matter of weathering the latest storm that eventually impacts all developing young players. In this excruciating case, the lessons all seem to be coming at once. When I go out there, I m never going to give in to a guy, May vowed in the wake of his Kansas City meltdown. There s never going to be a hitter that I m afraid of or worried about doing something. That s another thing I m going to take from it: I m not afraid. I don t care if you won the World Series last year. Indeed, nine of the Twins 15 losses to the Royals over the past calendar year have come by one or two runs. Once the Twins, who have won just seven times in that span, learn to overcome their fears and stop blinking in those defining moments, the rivalry should truly flourish. Talent-wise, it s similar, May said. It s that one more stop, one more play, the big play that needs to be made, the pitch, the diving catch, the strikeout. It s one of those. It s just playing them like they play. That s how they play. That s why they re successful. For now, all Molitor and his beleaguered coaching staff can do is continue to support and instruct and remain calm, even while the whole world seems to be crashing down all around this young Twins roster. It s not surprising, Molitor said. Part of coaching and managing is the patience aspect, a reminder of the difficulty of the game. There are some things you only learn by going through them. With Abad out of town to attend a funeral, Twins will call up a reliever Derek Wetmore ESPN 1500 April 15, 2016 Twins reliever Fernando Abad has left the Twin Cities on his way to the Dominican Republic to attend his grandmother s funeral. The Twins will put Abad on the Bereavement List, General Manager Terry Ryan said Friday. Abad is expected to miss a couple games before returning to the Twins. By rule, he ll miss a minimum of three games and no more than seven games. The Twins will make a roster move after Friday s game to call up a reliever for the short term, Ryan said. Abad made the team out of spring training after signing a minor league deal with Minnesota this winter. He s appeared in five games, and pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. He s faced 16 batters and given up just one hit. 13

14 Twins get first win, edge Angels 5-4 Associated Press April 16, 2016 Byung Ho Park finally had a chance to celebrate with the Minnesota Twins. The wait was so long even the stoic slugger let down his guard. The Twins became the last team in the major leagues to win this season, after Park drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the eighth inning for a 5-4 victory Friday night over the Los Angeles Angels. Then he dutifully took part in the postgame dance-off the Twins made a tradition last year. "When I was stepping into the clubhouse, I heard the music playing loud," Park said through his translator. "So that made me feel good." Both Minnesota and Atlanta stopped nine-game losing streaks Friday. The Braves beat Miami earlier. That left the 2002 Detroit Tigers with the dishonor of being the last team to start a season 0-10 or worse. "The energy was there," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Once we got on the board a couple times, obviously we saw the fight to find a way to win." Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels, whose four-game winning streak ended. Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe hit consecutive RBI doubles in the sixth off Angels starter Garrett Richards, the third multi-run inning for the Twins this season. This was the first time they topped three runs in a game, but they're still last in the majors with 19 runs. "We would have liked to win the game, obviously, but the guys are playing good defense, we're swinging the bat and we're pitching well," Richards said. "Good for them, I guess." Park, the 29-year-old Korean slugger making his major league debut this season, knocked in Plouffe with his one-out hit off Fernando Salas (0-1) for his second RBI. "I'm not really the body language guy. I try to keep it always calm and quiet," Park said, admitting to an uncharacteristic outburst on second base: "Without thinking I was kind of throwing my hands in the air. A little scream right there, it just came. That's how much it meant." Eduardo Nunez went 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Casey Fien (1-0) picked up the victory after getting the last out of the eighth inning with runners at the corners, and Kevin Jepsen worked a hitless ninth for his first save. "We're going to get through. We're going to be back. We have a great group, really good players they put together, and things are going to change," said Nunez, who is batting.778 after subbing for resting regular Brian Dozier. Twins starter Tommy Milone didn't allow a run until Yunel Escobar's RBI double in the sixth, but after the Twins gave him the lead the lefthander lost it five minutes later in the seventh inning on the long balls by Pujols and Calhoun sandwiched around a walk. Nunez was a significant spark in the Twins' rally. Joe Mauer smacked a single into left-center in the seventh, and Nunez raced around third base, his helmet flying off as usual. After sliding into the plate with the tying run, Nunez popped right up, raised both arms and excitedly pointed at Mauer in appreciation. Hit by a pitch on the left elbow to start the sixth, Nunez was also whacked in the face by Sano's elbow, when the two converged on a bloop double by Escobar in the fourth inning. Sano also clipped Nunez's calf in the collision. "He got a lot of TV time with injuries tonight," Molitor quipped. "He's keeping me in shape." MAUER'S THROW When the ball rolled away from Nunez and Sano after the fourth-inning crash, Mauer alertly sprinted out to retrieve it in right field. Displaying 14