Minnesota Twins Daily Clips. Wednesday, June 22, 2016

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1 Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Wednesday, June 22, 2016 Suzuki drives in six, and Twins needed them all in slugfest with Phillies. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1 Miguel Sano's ready to go on rehab, but at what position? Star Tribune (Miller) p. 2 Twins offense busts loose behind Kurt Suzuki for victory. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 3 Twins hope Sano starts rehab assignment on Thursday. Pioneer Press (Murphy) p. 4 Suzuki propels offensive outburst with six RBIs. MLB.com (Park and Zolecki) p. 5 Duffey frustrated by sophomore slump. MLB.com (Park) p. 6 Suzuki flirts with cycle in four-hit game. MLB.com (Park) p. 7 Twins remain cautious as Sano nears rehab stint. MLB.com (Park) p. 8 Wetmore s 5 thoughts: Duffey s stretch of bad starts, Suzuki s big night, Sano ESPN (Wetmore) p. 8 Wetmore: It should be an easy decision to move Miguel Sano out of right field ESPN (Wetmore) p. 10 Suzuki leads Twins past Phillies with six RBI. Associated Press p. 12 Preview: Twins vs. Phillies. Sports Xchange p. 13 Suzuki drives in six, and Twins needed them all in slugfest with Phillies Phil Miller Star Tribune June 22, 2016 Kurt Suzuki collected a home run, a single, a double and a double-and-a-half Tuesday night. That counts as a cycle, doesn t it? The catcher had the offensive night of his career against the Phillies, driving in six runs and powering a Twins offense that was relentless for a change. Minnesota reached double digits in runs for the first time this season, and only momentarily noticed that the Phillies got there, too, in a Twins victory. It s unfortunate that you have to still be a little bit uncomfortable after scoring 14 runs, said Twins manager Paul Molitor, who gladly cut short his nightly anguish over his team s starting pitching, preferring to let the Phillies distress take precedence. Tyler Duffey s season continued to crash around him, this time with his shortest outing since his big-league debut last August, but the wreckage was overshadowed by the clamor of Twins bats battering Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola and a couple of hapless relievers. And the most resounding bat, on a night when the Twins collected seven extra-base hits, belonged to Suzuki. The veteran catcher had more RBI on Tuesday than he had in April, and he s lifted his average from.200 on May 28 to.265 now. He nearly had a career milestone, too his first cycle. Suzuki doubled in the ninth inning, driving in the game s final two runs, and had a decent chance of getting to third base. Everybody was convinced, they said I would have been close, Suzuki said, but I didn t want to make [the game] look like a mockery. I give him credit for the right play with two outs [in the eighth], to make sure, Molitor said. He put the situation above the possible cycle. Suzuki s best opportunity for a triple came five innings earlier. He came up with the bases loaded and smashed a hard screamer at center fielder Odubel Herrera, who got his glove on it but couldn t stop it from skipping past to the wall. Suzuki roared around the bases as Herrera retrieved the ball, and was almost halfway to third base when he noticed Max Kepler holding up ahead of him. As the throw came to the infield, Suzuki

2 spun and scrambled back to second. I could have got the tough one out of the way right there, he shrugged. Now the Twins must figure out what the problem is with Duffey, whose ERA has ballooned to 6.18 after allowing six runs in only three innings. His teammates could celebrate, though, because relievers Buddy Boshers and Taylor Rogers held the Phillies scoreless, and even when Michael Tonkin surrendered a stress-inducing three-run homer to Maikel Franco temporarily cutting Minnesota s lead to one run Brandon Kintzler was summoned to retire the final four batters and collect his third save. The Twins got contributions up and down the lineup. Trevor Plouffe s triple off the right-field wall scored two in the four-run first. Suzuki s double in the third added two more, and Byron Buxton chipped in a sacrifice fly. All of that damage came against Nola. Suzuki s fourth homer of the season, and third of the month, broke the Twins into double digits for the first time in the fifth inning. And Robbie Grossman s double and Dozier s triple added an 11th run in the sixth. Miguel Sano's ready to go on rehab, but at what position? Phil Miller Star Tribune June 22, 2016 The Twins are tentatively planning to have Miguel Sano make his Class AAA debut in Rochester, N.Y., on Friday, the start of a rehab stint intended to prepare him to return from a hamstring injury. How long Sano will stay in Rochester hasn t been determined yet, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. Nor has one other important detail: What position will he play? They haven t said anything to me about where he will play once he is cleared to return, Sano said Tuesday. Is he still an outfielder? I think so. Nobody has said I m not. That s because that critical decision hasn t been made yet, Molitor said. That s a fair question. In all honesty, we ve been having discussions about how we want to integrate him back into games on rehab, as well as up here, Molitor said. It s not finalized yet. The nature of Sano s injury makes the decision tricker. The 23-year-old, who started in right field 37 times in his first 50 games this season, strained the hamstring while running to first base on May 31, but potentially, there is far more running necessary in the outfield than at third base, his position throughout his minor league career. And designated hitter, the duty he manned in 2015, is the safest position of all. I have asked [myself], if he was coming back from a wrist injury, would I treat going back in the outfield differently than a hamstring injury? And probably the answer is yes, Molitor said. It s probably something to consider. So is the fact that Max Kepler is showing signs of making right field his permanent home. The 23-year-old rookie has improved as his playing time has increased, and, after a bunt single Tuesday, has a seven-game hitting streak. Since moving into the starting lineup on a regular basis 11 games ago, Kepler has hit.310 with two homers and five doubles.. Meanwhile, Eddie Rosario has gotten hot at Rochester (.344 with three home runs in June), and Robbie Grossman has excelled in left field. We have these parts here [and] we re trying to find how they fit the best including some other young outfielders that are doing fairly well, Molitor said. It s possible Sano could return to right field and Kepler move to center, a position Byron Buxton and Danny Santana have filled with great defense but little offense so far. Or there could be a reshuffling of the Trevor Plouffe-Joe Mauer-Byung Ho Park trio at third base, first base and DH. Molitor would like to settle on a plan by the time Sano leaves for Rochester, so he can focus on whatever position he, the coaching staff and General Manager Terry Ryan decide. And no matter what, he intends for the burly 270-pound slugger to play defense somewhere just to get on the field to prove, at least from a health standpoint, that he can do that. 2

3 Ryan, though, said the team might make no decision until they see how he performs. I m more worried about his hitting, to be honest. We need him swinging the bat, Ryan said. As for Sano s defense, that ll take care of itself. We want to make sure he ll have an opportunity to play various spots. Somehow, it ll work out. It always does. Sano s health is no longer in doubt as far as Sano is concerned. He crowed Tuesday about how well he performed in the series of running tests he s undertaken over the past few days. Feels good. I m really good, Sano said. I want to play. He s made that clear, Molitor said. He s hungry to get out and play. Between the diagnosis and our concern about making sure this is something that doesn t get repeated, we re proceeding cautiously, the manager said. I thought he had a really good day out there today. Running was what I was most concerned about. He s been swinging the bat now for awhile. So Miguel, what s it going to be? Back to the outfield, move to the infield, go back to last year s DH spot or some combo? Wherever they want me to play, he said agreeably. They pay me. Etc. Glen Perkins shoulder surgery will take place Thursday morning in southern California, Ryan said. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the operation to repair two tears in Perkins labrum, a procedure that will keep the Twins closer out of action until next spring. Darin Mastroianni reported to Class AAA Rochester on Friday to begin rehabbing from his strained oblique, but he has been unable to play thus far. There was a little bit of a setback there, Molitor said. He went out of here feeling like he was ready to play, and then ran into some discomfort in some of his swinging the first day he was there. We re not going to put him in a game until he s ready. Twins offense busts loose behind Kurt Suzuki for victory Brian Murphy Pioneer Press June 21, 2016 Kurt Suzuki stood at the plate for his fifth at-bat in the eighth inning Tuesday with two outs and a pair of Twins runners on base at the end of a wild hitting night at Target Field, needing a triple to complete an unlikely cycle. Against Phillies reliever David Hernandez, Suzuki ripped a hooking line drive into the left-field corner. As Max Kepler and Eduardo Escobar raced home with the final runs in Minnesota s victory, Suzuki s teammates starting yelling Three, Three, Three! from the dugout, hoping the conservative catcher would chase history into third base. Everybody was convinced that I would have been close, said Suzuki, who pulled up at second and settled for his second double. I wasn t so convinced. I didn t want to make it look like a mockery, trying to go for that cycle and you make the last out at third, so I stopped. Michael Cuddyer was the last Twin to hit for the cycle, in May Suzuki was prudent on a night in which he hit a two-run home run and set a career high with six RBI as the Twins hibernating offense arrived with the official start of summer. The Twins had a pair of four-run innings and scored multiple runs in four. Their 14 runs were a season high and marked the first time in 2015 they eclipsed double-digit runs. Seven of nine starters had a hit while all nine reached base. Two interleague teams that were a combined 31 games out of first place entering play combined for 24 runs and 28 hits. It was the first game in the seven-year history of Target Field in which both teams scored in double digits, according to ESPN. Brian Dozier went 3 for 5 with a triple and pair of runs batted in and Trevor Plouffe tripled and drove in two runs as the Twins won their second straight. It was good to back up Sunday s game with a win, but it was unfortunate you had to feel uncomfortable after scoring 14 runs, said manager Paul Molitor. That is because Philadelphia scored three runs off reliever Michael Tonkin in the eighth, forcing closer Brandon Kintzler to record the final out of 3

4 the inning before inheriting three insurance runs to stamp out the Phillies in the ninth. Buddy Boshers earned his second victory with two innings of scoreless relief, joining six others with two wins behind starter Ricky Nolasco s three. He took over for ineffective starter Tyler Duffey to start the fourth. Duffey was tagged with six earned runs after allowing home runs to Peter Bourjos in the first and back-to-back blasts by Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp in the third. You ve got to be better, especially when you get runners on, said Duffey, who failed to earn a win in his fifth straight start. I was missing with my fastball. I don t throw 95 (mph). That s what s going to happen. I feel like I ve been teetering the last couple weeks now, trying to put it all together. We got the win. That s all that really matters. To be sure, it was a sloppy game. Each team committed an error. Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis played Dozier s third-inning single like a matador and later fielded a routine grounder and threw the ball away. Dozier tossed a Joe Mauer deflected grounder to the fence behind first base. Center fielder Odubel Herrera misplayed a fly ball into a double. Boshers uncorked a wild pitch. But the night belonged to the Twins offense, specifically Suzuki. Mired in a.196 slump in early May, the 2014 all-star switched to an ax-handle bat and has been on a hitting tear. He has hits in nine of his past 10 games, batting.405 with five doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs during that span. It s nice, he said. You re going to through highs and lows just like everybody else. You don t want to do it at the start of the year like I did, but you ve just got to keep grinding, keep working and see what happens. Twins hope Sano starts rehab assignment on Thursday Brian Murphy Pioneer Press June 21, 2016 Twins slugger Miguel Sano tentatively is scheduled to start a rehabilitation stint at Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, three weeks after tearing his left hamstring although it remains uncertain where he will play defense. Manager Paul Molitor said Tuesday the team is deliberating whether it is prudent to immediately return Sano to right field, which requires defenders to run and cover more territory than, say, the corner infield positions. Sano s natural position is third base, but the Twins moved him to the outfield in spring training. I think that s a fair question, Molitor said before the game against Philadelphia at Target Field. I guess I have asked that question: If he was coming back from a wrist injury, would I treat going back in the outfield differently than coming off a hamstring injury? It s something to consider. Moreover, the Twins are flush with outfielders, including a pair of prospects they are trying to develop. Max Kepler replaced Sano in right field after he injured himself running out a ground ball May 31 at Oakland. Danny Santana s reinstatement from the disabled list Friday leaves the Twins with four outfielders and two on the DL. Left fielder Robbie Grossman has thrived at the plate since he opted out of Cleveland s minor-league system May 16. And Byron Buxton is going through more growing pains as Minnesota s everyday center fielder. Sano, who spent most of 2015 at designated hitter, was moved to right field to accommodate the signing of Byung Ho Park. If he spends the majority of his rehab stint playing third base, that could raise intriguing questions about Trevor Plouffe s trade value and future in Minnesota. We ll move him around defensively, probably ease in DH-wise, some in the outfield, some in the infield, said general manager Terry Ryan. But first we ve got to make sure we get him through. It ll probably be at DH for a minute or two. I m more worried about him swinging the bat. We need offense. 4

5 Sano hit and ran hard for a second straight day at Target Field. Barring a pregame setback during the Phillies series, the Twins hope to get him into Friday s game for Rochester, which plays host to Louisville. He could play anywhere from three to seven games for the Red Wings, according to Molitor. It would be Sano s first appearance at Triple-A after he was promoted last year directly from Double-A Chattanooga. Feel more healthy, stronger, said Sano, who claims to have lost seven pounds on the disabled list. I m going to be happy when I come back and play with my teammates and help my team. I miss the game. I m doing my work the right way. Still, the Twins are in no hurry to accelerate a decision about where or when to play their prized power hitter, who is nursing a notoriously fickle injury. He s hungry to get out there, Molitor said. I thought he had a really good day out there today. His running was what I was most concerned about. Between the diagnosis and our concern making sure this is something that doesn t get repeated, we re proceeding cautiously. BRIEFLY Outfielder Darin Mastroianni, on the disabled list since May 25 with a left oblique strain, suffered a setback while hitting, Molitor said, further delaying his possible reinstatement. Closer Glen Perkins, out until 2017 because of a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, will have surgery Thursday in southern California. The operation will be performed by Dr. Neal AlAttrache, the doctor who examined Perkins last week at the Kerman-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Suzuki propels offensive outburst with six RBIs Do-Hyoung Park and Todd Zolecki MLB.com June 22, 2016 Kurt Suzuki's season-high four hits and career-high six RBIs, including a two-run homer in the fifth, powered an offensive explosion for the Twins, who set a season-high in runs with their victory over the Phillies at Target Field on Tuesday night. "I feel warm," Suzuki said. "It's not 10 degrees outside and I can feel the bat. It's one of those things -- like they say in baseball, you find that comfort zone and you get a good pitch to hit and you don't miss it." Every Twins hitter except Eduardo Nunez either scored or drove in at least one run and Phillies starter Aaron Nola was chased after just three innings, during which he allowed eight runs (seven earned). Minnesota added six runs against the Philadelphia bullpen to hold off a four-run Phillies rally in the eighth. Brian Dozier had three hits, including an RBI triple, and two runs scored, while Trevor Plouffe scored two runs and drove in two on a first-inning triple. "It's unfortunate that you still have to be a little bit uncomfortable after you score 14 runs, but we got out early -- Trevor got a big hit early and Kurt had a big hit early -- but they kept answering," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We built the lead back up a little bit through the middle innings and the bullpen did a nice job." Peter Bourjos hit his second homer of the season in the second inning, and Tommy Joseph, Cameron Rupp and Maikel Franco also went deep as the Phillies hit double digits in runs for the first time since April 23. Bourjos and Cody Asche both recorded three-hit games. "If you would have told me we were going to score [10] runs tonight with Nola pitching I would have been thrilled," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I would have bet money on it." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Six for Suzuki: The Twins' catcher has heated up in the month of June, and took it to a whole different level on Tuesday night with a 4-for-5 game that raised his batting average in the month to.365. He had a two-run double in the third, a two-run homer in the fifth and a two-run double in the eighth to record a career-high six RBIs to surpass his previous career-high of five, which came eight years ago on June 20, "He has been surging," Molitor said. "We're seeing a little bit of power and he's getting some hits with runners in scoring position, which is something we've been lacking as a unit. You just hope that some of the guys watch these people that are taking good at-bats in those situations and start to get some results." 5

6 No, no, no, Nola: Nola's struggles are eye-popping. He has allowed 22 hits, 17 earned runs, seven walks and has struck out 10 in 9 2/3 innings in his last three starts. He has a ERA in that stretch, becoming the first Phillies' starter to pitch four or fewer innings and allow four or more runs in three consecutive starts since Gavin Floyd in April "I'm an even-keeled guy," Nola said. "If you talk to a guy who has three pretty rough starts, it gets kind of frustrating. It gets frustrating after the third one. I feel like it doesn't matter how even-keeled you are. It definitely is frustrating, but I'm going to try to put this one behind me and try to really focus on the positives." Four-mula for success: After seeing Tyler Duffey allow three runs in the top of the third to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead, the struggling Twins' lineup fired back with four more in the bottom half of the frame to retake the lead -- this time, for good. Dozier, Plouffe and Max Kepler hit three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out, and a two-run double from the red-hot Suzuki was followed by a sacrifice fly from Byron Buxton and a run-scoring throwing error by Freddy Galvis. Bourjos stays hot: It might surprise Phillies fans, but Peter Bourjos has been the Phillies' hottest hitter for the past couple of weeks. He hit a tworun homer to left field in the second inning to keep things going. He finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. "I was thrilled at the offense," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "A lot of positives to take out of that. Hopefully, the fact that we hit as a team, it'll give us a boost of confidence. We got them and it takes a little pressure off of everybody to feel good going into tomorrow's game." QUOTABLE "Everybody was convinced that I would have been close, but I wasn't so convinced. I didn't want to make it look like a mockery where you try to go for the cycle and make the last out at third, so I stopped." -- Suzuki, on his eighth-inning double, while needing a triple to complete the cycle "I was just bragging about him before the game to [Twins broadcaster and Hall of Famer] Bert Blyleven, how his strength is his ability to locate pitches. I looked at the first couple of innings on the monitor -- I came in between innings -- I don't think he hit the mitt more than a couple of times. He was all over the place. He'll get that back. But something is missing right now." -- Mackanin, on Nola SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Suzuki now has 495 career RBIs, giving him sole possession of first place on the all-time RBI list for MLB players born in Hawaii, surpassing Shane Victorino. WHAT'S NEXT Phillies: Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan (1-6, 6.49 ERA) hopes to get healthy against the Twins. He appeared to be turning a corner earlier this month, allowing six runs in 12 2/3 innings against the Cubs and Nationals. But then he allowed seven runs (four earned runs) in 4 1/3 innings Friday against the D-Backs. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET. Twins: Right-hander Kyle Gibson will make his first career start against the Phillies when he takes the mound for the Twins at 7:10 p.m. CT in the second game of the series on Wednesday night. He is 2-7 with a 6.11 ERA in 10 career Interleague starts but is coming off a quality start against the Yankees in which he allowed three earned runs over 6 1/3 innings, striking out four while walking two. Duffey frustrated by sophomore slump Do-Hyoung Park MLB.com June 22, 2016 Twins starter Tyler Duffey allowed only four home runs in 10 starts last season as a rookie. He nearly matched that total in three innings against the Phillies in Minnesota's victory on Tuesday night at Target Field, allowing three homers and six earned runs in his shortest outing of the season. Tuesday marked the seventh consecutive start in which Duffey has allowed four or more earned runs, and his six earned runs allowed tied his season high. According to the 25-year-old, part of the problem has been that he has been uncharacteristically missing up with his breaking pitches, allowing hitters to square him up. "Once I get too quick [in my delivery], the arm drops a little bit and it's hard for me to get on top of the ball," Duffey said. "I'm low, threequarters to begin with, so once I start missing up, things start flattening out, it runs a little more than it sinks, things like that. The curveball gets a little more sideways versus up-and-down. That's when stuff gets hit." According to Twins manager Paul Molitor, even Duffey's good breaking balls have been noticeably less effective this season, with hitters better 6

7 able to foul them off and extend at-bats to wait for better pitches. "I don't think he's tipping anything," Molitor said. "It's just their approach to him is pretty good. A lot of guys have made adjustments and he hasn't figured out how to counter. At least not yet." Duffey's sophomore season has been a struggle after he showed so much promise last season, when he went 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts. In 2016, he has posted a 6.18 ERA through 11 starts, with nearly as many earned runs (41) as strikeouts (49). Amid his recent tough stretch, Duffey, who is not afraid to show strong emotions on the mound, has almost been his own worst enemy by allowing himself to get too frustrated with his performance, according to Molitor. "I've actually had conversations with multiple people, including [Molitor], about how having a fire is a good thing, but there's a right and a wrong way to do it, to the point where he is mentioning that I'm kind of wasting energy on being upset rather than putting that energy toward getting somebody out," Duffey said. Molitor is not yet sure about whether he is going to stick with Duffey to make his next scheduled start and will have conversations with general manager Terry Ryan and his coaching staff over the next several days to come to a decision. In the meantime, catcher Kurt Suzuki is confident that Duffey will be able to make those necessary second-year adjustments if given that opportunity. "He's obviously not pitching up to his standards and how he would like," Suzuki said. "We all got to know [Duffey] and how good of a pitcher he is, and he's just in one of those ruts where nothing can really go right. I don't know if he's just not feeling good or whatnot, but he's a guy that competes out there." Suzuki flirts with cycle in four-hit game Do-Hyoung Park MLB.com June 22, 2016 Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki, who has hit all of one triple over the last four seasons, might have briefly entertained the idea of going to third on his eighth-inning double to complete his first career cycle in the Twins' victory over the Phillies on Tuesday night at Target Field. But he quickly thought better of it. "Everybody was convinced that I would have been close, but I wasn't so convinced," Suzuki said. "I didn't want to make it look like a mockery, where you try to go for the cycle and make the last out at third, so I stopped." So instead of finishing the cycle, he had to settle for just a career-best six-rbi night after that two-run double, his second of the game, helped him surpass his previous career-high of five set almost exactly eight years ago on June 20, Suzuki had also knocked a two-run homer in the fifth inning, his fourth of the season and his third in the last eight games, as part of a 4-for-5 performance that helped him continue his torrid month of June at the plate. After hitting.212 with one home run and driving in 11 runs in April and May combined, he has hit.365 with three homers and 14 RBIs in June, with his six RBIs on Tuesday night helping push Minnesota to its first double-digit run total of the season. "I feel warm -- it's not 10 degrees outside and I can feel the bat," said Suzuki, who also became the all-time RBI leader among MLB players born in Hawaii, surpassing Shane Victorino. "It's one of those things -- like they say in baseball, you find that comfort zone and you get a good pitch to hit and you don't miss it." As a player who has been in the league for a while, Suzuki understands that every hitter will go through his ebbs and flows at the plate, though he does find it unfortunate that his "ebb" this season was at the start of the year amid a tough stretch for the team. "You don't want to do it at the start of the year like I did, but you've just got to keep grinding, keep working and see what happens," Suzuki said. Suzuki has raised his season batting average to.265 and has been taking many better at-bats as of late, and manager Paul Molitor hopes that his veteran catcher's success serves as a good example to some of the Twins' younger hitters as Minnesota searches for more consistent offensive production. 7

8 "He has been surging," Molitor said. "We're seeing a little bit of power and he's getting some hits with runners in scoring position, which is something we've been lacking as a unit. You just hope that some of the guys watch these people that are taking good at-bats in those situations and start to get some results." Twins remain cautious as Sano nears rehab stint Do-Hyoung Park MLB.com June 22, 2016 The Twins are aiming to have outfielder Miguel Sano begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester no later than Friday, following a "really good" full-speed workout during Minnesota's off-day on Monday, according to manager Paul Molitor. "He's hungry to get out and play," Molitor said. "I think between the diagnosis and our concern about making sure this is something that doesn't get repeated, we're proceeding cautiously." The coaching staff hasn't yet set a complete schedule for Sano's rehab in Rochester and his eventual return to the Twins. Sano had already been swinging a bat for several days, but Molitor had always been more concerned about the 23-year-old's ability to run at full speed following a left hamstring strain sustained May 31 in Oakland. "[Sano's] youthful exuberance -- you want to get out there and sometimes you think your judgment is right on, but the people that have a little more experience with these kinds of things are going to slow down some of that and make sure," Molitor said. Molitor was noncommittal when asked whether Sano would continue to play in the outfield upon his return. He admitted that part of his hesitation stemmed from the fact that Sano's injury was to his hamstring as opposed to some other area less critical to outfield defense. "I think that's a fair question, and in all honesty, we've been having discussions on how we want to integrate him back into his games on rehab as well as up here," Molitor said. "It's not finalized yet." Considering Danny Santana's recent return from injury, the Twins' desire to get Byron Buxton and Max Kepler consistent starts against Major League pitching and Robbie Grossman's continued hot hitting, Minnesota's coaching staff is still trying to figure out how all of the pieces will fit together in the outfield upon Sano's eventual return. "We have these parts here, and we're trying to figure out how they fit the best, including some other young outfielders that are doing fairly well," Molitor said. Molitor hopes that Sano will be able to mix starts at both DH and in the field at Rochester, though he hasn't yet formulated a specific positional plan for the rehab assignment. Sano had been hitting.235/.341/.458 with 11 home runs and a team-leading 27 RBIs before his injury. Worth noting Relief pitcher Trevor May, who was placed on the disabled list on June 10 with lower back spasms, threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday and is tentatively scheduled to throw another Friday. Outfielder Darin Mastroianni, who was sent to Rochester for his rehab assignment on June 17, felt discomfort while taking pregame swings and hasn't yet recorded a Minor League at-bat as he works his way back from a left oblique strain for which he was placed on the disabled list on May 25. He has missed 27 games as a result of the injury. Wetmore s 5 thoughts: Duffey s stretch of bad starts, Suzuki s big night, Sano Derek Wetmore 1500 ESPN June 21, 2016 The Twins beat the Phillies by a football score of in a sloppy baseball game Tuesday. The ugliest game I ve seen this year extended the Twins winning streak to two games. 1. Tyler Duffey turned in his latest clunker Tuesday with 3 innings and 6 earned runs. 8

9 Things are not going well for Duffey right now and his start against the Phillies was an extension of that concerning trend. Here s a quick chart with his earned runs and innings pitched in his past 7 starts. Date Runs Earned Runs Innings May /3 May /3 May /3 June /3 June /3 June /3 June Source: Baseball-Reference.com Perhaps most concerning of all, he s giving up home runs by the handful. Last year in the minors, Duffey allowed just 1 home run in 138 innings, which is, of course, terrific in that category. Then he was ambushed in Toronto for two home runs in his MLB debut. But after that he permitted just two more long balls in 56 innings. Total in 196 innings between the Majors and minors last year: 5 home runs. His total this year in 59 2/3 innings: 11 home runs, including 8 in his past four starts. And the back-to-back homers the Phillies smashed in the 4th inning both landed in the second deck in left field. So these weren t wall-scrapers by any means. Yeah, it s been elevated, Duffey said of his pitches being up in the strike zone. Normally I try to miss away or in or down. Once I get too quick, arm [slot] drops a little bit then it s hard for me to get on top of the ball. I mean, I m three-quarters [arm slot] to begin with, so once I start missing up, stuff flattens out, it runs a little bit more than it sinks. The curveball gets a little more sideways versus up and down, that s when stuff gets hit. That s the kind of stretch that could have the Twins scanning minor league box scores for a new starting rotation candidate. Paul Molitor was asked after the game if Duffey would make his next start in the big leagues and the manager was non-committal. We ve talked about how we want to keep going forward in a lot of areas here. We re always kind of looking at those things, Molitor said. I m probably not going to finalize a decision on how his next turn s going to go as of yet I haven t talked to Terry [Ryan] or anything like that, I m not sure what his feelings are right now. But if we get him back out there we re going to have to figure out a way to get better. 2. If you re curious about a possible replacement for Duffey, J.O. Berrios makes the most sense to me. He s on the 40-man roster, unlike Red Wings starters like, say, Logan Darnell and Jason Wheeler. The Twins have already recalled Tommy Milone after his dominant stretch in the minors, and he s currently slated to start Friday s game, I m told. Berrios made his first start with Rochester one month ago after the Twins demoted him. In that time, Berrios has a 4.42 ERA in 36 2/3 innings and a 38:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only pitchers on the 40-man roster that aren t already on the active roster or disabled list are Randy Rosario, Alex Meyer, Mason Melotakis, Yorman Landa, Pat Dean (who was just demoted after a bad start Friday), J.T. Chargois and Berrios. If the Twins want to swap in pitcher that s not on that list, they d have to make a 40-man roster move. For what it s worth, I was high on Duffey this winter and I think he has long-term rotation potential. But it s not working right now. Duffey was asked after the game if he feels any tension on the mound knowing that he s in a bad stretch of starts. He was very matter-of-fact in his answer. I d like to say no, Duffey said. You definitely think about it. Especially when you ve worked on things, you think, OK, I need to work on this, or I need to do this. And I think I may be doing a little too much of that in-game. It s just as a hitter who is working on his mechanics between games could find it burdensome if he s still thinking about mechanical adjustments 9

10 during a plate appearance, rather than just looking for a pitch to hit and swinging. Duffey says his curve ball has been more horizontal than vertical in terms of break, and that could explain why what used to be swings and misses on his curveball seem to have morphed into foul balls or pitches out of the strike zone taken for balls. 3. Speaking of the rotation, we spent a good deal of time talking about how bad the starting staff has been on the latest episode of the Touch Em All podcast a podcast with an analytical bent that focuses exclusively on the Twins. I think it s a fair contention to say that the starting rotation is the root of all the Twins problems the past five years. 4. The less that is written about Tuesday s baseball game between the Twins and Phillies, the better. But I d be remiss if I didn t point our Kurt Suzuki s terrific night at the plate. The Twins catcher had 6 RBIs and 9 total bases in his 4-for-5 night. He stepped to the plate with men on first and third base in the 8th inning, needing a triple to complete the cycle. The Phillies left fielder was shaded toward left-center, and Suzuki poked a ball into the left field corner. The Target Field crowd what was left of it jumped to its feet to see if the catcher would attempt to race to third base. Alas, with two outs in the inning and the ball on its way to the infield, Suzuki chose instead to settle for a 2-RBI double to give the Twins a lead. Suzuki hit a 2-RBI double in the 3rd inning and appeared to be headed toward third base when he noticed that the runner in front of him, Max Kepler, had stopped at third instead of attempting to score from first base on the drive that got past center fielder Odubel Herrera. So Suzuki slammed on the brakes and scooted back into second base and settled for a double. If we would have had a little better base running on the one to center then we would have completed the cycle with the [8th-inning] double instead of needing the triple, Molitor joked. Suzuki s been on a tear lately and he s specifically been on a tear in the month of June. Since May 31 he s hitting.333/.346/.510. And those numbers were on his stats page entering Tuesday s game, so actually they re even better than that. Molitor said Suzuki might even be a bit of a role model for other hitters struggling at the plate with runners in scoring position. You just hope that some of the guys watch these people that are taking good at-bats in those [RBI] situations and start to get some results and we can start having a little better approach in those situations, Molitor said. Taking the pressure off yourself and put it back on the pitcher a little bit and hopefully get a good pitch to hit, I think he s been doing that really well. 5. Miguel Sano is recovering from a strained hamstring and is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Friday, GM Terry Ryan said before Tuesday s game. The Twins haven t yet said whether or not Sano will play right field upon his return to game action, which is incredible to me. For one thing, Max Kepler is holding down right field right now and should be given every opportunity to have regular playing time at the position the rest of the season. The way I see it, the Twins have three options with how they handle Sano when he returns, and none of them involve playing an inning in the outfield. Read this column for several suggestions. My overarching point is this: I think Sano is the kind of hitter who should have a lineup built around him; not the type of player who should be shoehorned into a position he can t play because the rest of the puzzle pieces don t fit. Wetmore: It should be an easy decision to move Miguel Sano out of right field Derek Wetmore 1500 ESPN June 21, 2016 If the answer isn t plainly obvious to the Twins by now, then there must be something they re not telling us. 10

11 Miguel Sano is set to start a rehab stint Friday at Triple-A Rochester, according to manager Paul Molitor. The hulking young hitter is recovered from a hamstring injury and said he s done well with the Twins battery of physical tests to be cleared for playing in minor league games. The Twins are being cautious with their slugger who said he lost seven pounds in his time on the disabled list because the team wants to be assured he won t reinjure himself by returning to action too early. That part is understandable. What s hard to understand is why the Twins still feel they have a decision to make on whether or not he should be an outfielder when he gets back on the field. What s left to think about? Sano already has proven that the experiment to move him to a corner outfield spot was a failure. He s a good young hitter with power and patience and he was well below average as an outfielder in the first two months of the season. To make matters worse, he got hurt while looking bad in the outfield, and despite losing a couple pounds, he s still a behemoth compared with most outfielders. His bat belongs in the lineup every day. His glove doesn t belong in right field. And that s before considering the fact that another young right fielder 23-year-old Max Kepler seems to be coming into his element at the plate, and should be given a steady diet of MLB at-bats the rest of the year. By the sounds of things, the Twins are having discussions about that very topic. Based on interviews in the past week, it s clear they re thinking about the possibility of pulling the plug on the Sano-as-an-outfielder experiment. But nobody s said it yet. And while there s no deadline to say the gambit has run its course, there is a deadline to do something about it: the first rehab game in which he plays the field. If he s going to return to the Twins as an infielder or DH, there s no sense in having him run around in right field for the Rochester Red Wings. Terry Ryan was asked last week if Sano will slide back into right field when he s healthy. I m not sure exactly how it s going to play itself out here quite yet, Ryan said. There s no sense in me starting that process until I have to, Ryan said, adding that any kind of firm declaration would wind up as a headline in the media. Molitor was coy in discussing the circumstances Monday. The manager was asked if Sano will slot back in as the regular right fielder when he returns, whether that s early next week or after a full week of rehab games. I think that s a fair question and in all honestly we ve been having discussions about how we want to integrate him back into games on rehab as well as up here [in the majors], Molitor said. It s not finalized yet. We have these parts here that we re trying to find how they fit the best, including some other young outfielders that are doing fairly well, Molitor said. Molitor also said that the story might be a little different if Sano was recovering from a wrist injury, which suggests that the running involved in playing the outfield is at least of some concern to the Twins. The Twins have three options, the way I see it: In all three scenarios, assuming that he stays healthy, the Twins should keep Max Kepler in right field. I think there s a good chance he s the opening day right fielder in 2017, so they might as well let him develop at the highest level, especially as he shows signs of handling the pitching. Option One: Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano share first base and DH duties. Mauer is a better first baseman, I ll bet, but the Twins have been giving him plenty of half days off by using him as the DH anyway. The Twins people I ve spoken to believe that Sano adds value in the field at third base, so if that s the case one could argue that those talents are wasted at first base. In this option, you d probably have to send Byung Ho Park to Triple-A Rochester. Option Two: Have Sano split time between third base and DH, occasionally benching Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe is hitting just.239/.264/.362 this 11

12 season, and has seen his walk rate drop dramatically from a 7.4 percent career walk rate to just 3 percent of his plate appearances. I know he s played through injuries this season, which may or may not be affecting his numbers, and I think Plouffe can be a valuable leader for this team, but that production justifies an occasional seat on the bench if necessary. Note that except for under strange circumstances, I don t think it makes sense to have Sano at third base and Plouffe at DH if your goal is to maximize run production and prevention. That s because until Sano and his cannon arm demonstrate otherwise, I believe Plouffe is the superior fielder at third base. Option Three: Clear up the roster logjam created this winter when the Twins signed a DH and find a full-time spot for Sano by trading Plouffe or Park. I think Sano is the kind of hitter who should have a lineup built around him; not the type of player who should be shoehorned into a position he can t play because the rest of the puzzle pieces don t fit. Suzuki leads Twins past Phillies with six RBI Associated Press June 22, 2016 Kurt Suzuki had the single, the double and the home run. The triple was 90 feet away after his drive down the left-field line landed in the corner, and his Minnesota Twins teammates were playfully waving him to third base. He stopped at second, plenty satisfied with his night. Suzuki went 4 for 5 with a career-high six RBIs, leading the Twins to a victory Tuesday over Philadelphia that handed the Phillies their eighth straight defeat. "Everybody was convinced that it would've been close, but I wasn't so convinced," Suzuki said of his two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning that Cody Asche fielded with plenty of time to throw to third. "I didn't want to make it look like a mockery." The Twins did that to Phillies pitching instead, starting with Trevor Plouffe's two-run triple against Aaron Nola (5-7) in a four-run first inning. Brian Dozier went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, and the Twins beat their season scoring high by five runs. "It's tough, tough for the team, when I go again three innings," said Nola, whose strong start to the season has screeched to a halt with 20 runs allowed over 9 2/3 innings in his last three turns. "I'm trying to figure something out." Mikael Franco drove in four runs for the Phillies, including a three-run homer in a four-run eighth against Michael Tonkin that pulled them within But Suzuki and the Twins roared back with three more runs in the bottom of the inning. Suzuki is batting.405 with eight extrabase hits and 14 RBIs in his last 10 games. "You've just got to keep grinding, I guess," said Suzuki, who hasn't produced much at the plate since making the All-Star Game in The 12-year veteran catcher could've had the triple out of the way in the third inning, actually, when he sent a bases-loaded pitch from Nola to center field that glanced off Odubel Herrera's glove and rolled to the wall. Max Kepler held up at third, though, and Suzuki had to retreat after running halfway there. Buddy Boshers (2-0) relieved Tyler Duffey and pitched two innings for the win, moving into a seven-way tie for second place on the staff with two despite being on the team for only four weeks. The Phillies homered four times, with Peter Bourjos, Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp going deep against the stumbling Duffey, and tallied a season-high 14 hits. They even topped the nine runs they totaled on that horrendous six-game homestand they just finished, but they fell to 4-21 in their last 25 games. "It's unfortunate that you have to still be a little bit uncomfortable after scoring 14 runs," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. That's largely because of Duffey, who has a 6.18 ERA and 11 home runs allowed in 11 starts after posting a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts with only four homers surrendered last year as a rookie. 12

13 "If we have to get him back out there, we're going to have to figure out a way to get better," Molitor said. MINNESOTA MEMORY Phillies manager Pete Mackanin wrapped up a 548-game major league career with the Twins, for whom was a utility infielder during the seasons. Those were the last two for the team at suburban Metropolitan Stadium before moving to the downtown Metrodome, and he hit the last Twins home run at the Met on Sept. 30, Mackanin was also the last player to wear No. 14 before Kent Hrbek took it the following year. Hrbek's uniform was retired in 1995, and Mackanin joked before the game that should count as his honor, too. "If we don't start winning," he said, "I might be retired." TRAINER'S ROOM Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (strained right biceps) will throw up to 75 pitches Wednesday for Double-A Reading on a rehab assignment. Twins: RF Miguel Sano (strained left hamstring) will start a rehab assignment this weekend with Triple-A Rochester, but the team hasn't yet decided whether he should be a RF, 3B, 1B or DH when he's back. UP NEXT Phillies: LHP Adam Morgan (1-6, 6.49 ERA) will take the mound for the middle game of the series, on a seven-start winless streak during which he has allowed eight or more hits five times. Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (0-5, 6.06 ERA), who won 25 games over the past two seasons, will try Wednesday for the seventh time this year to get his first victory. Preview: Twins vs. Phillies Sports Xchange June 22, 2016 The Minnesota Twins will go for their third straight victory Wednesday night when they continue their three-game interleague series with the Philadelphia Phillies at Target Field. Right-hander Kyle Gibson takes the mound for Minnesota, still looking for his first victory of the season. Gibson comes into the game 0-5 with a 6.06 ERA in six starts this season and is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two starts since returning from the disabled list June 11. He was effective his last time out, holding the Yankees to three runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out four over 6 1/3 innings of work -- his second-longest outing of the season -- and faced the minimum 15 batters through his first five innings of work in a 4-1 Twins loss. "I felt more like myself a little bit. More like last year and 2014 when I was throwing a little bit better," Gibson said following that outing. "Hopefully I can keep it going." Philadelphia starter Adam Morgan hasn't fared much better this season. He comes into his 11th start of the year with a 1-6 record and 6.49 ERA. Since allowing just one run over seven innings on May 10, Morgan has gone 0-6 while allowing 34 runs earned -- on 52 hits in 36 2/3 innings of work. "I feel like I am battling out there and I am going through a rough patch right now but that there's a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm going to get there," Morgan told the Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal after his last outing, a 10-2 loss to Arizona. He couldn't make it out of the fifth in that outing, surrendering seven runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits but struck out 10 and didn't walk a batter. With Vince Velasquez getting closer to returning from the disabled list, Morgan's days in the rotation could be numbered. "Nobody's name is carved in stone, nothing's in ink," Philadelphia manager Pete Mackinin told the News Journal. "We're looking for guys that are going to give us consistent at-bats, consistent pitching performances and solid defenders. If you want to win the World Series, you've got to have good players. Not mediocre players." Minnesota's victory Tuesday night improved the Twins to 5-6 in interleague play this season and 9-7 all-time against Philadelphia, 13