Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Sunday, October 2, 2016

 Santiago shuts down White Sox as Twins win 6-0. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1  Can Twins afford to be patient after a six-year stretch of mostly lousy ?. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1  Twins' season has a silver lining: the No. 1 draft pick. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3  : Disappointing year winds down for Joe Mauer. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4  Minnesota Twins: Phil Hughes, Glen Perkins working back from surgeries. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 6  Molitor: Mauer out of lineup for final 2 games. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 7  Dozier likely to miss finale with sore oblique. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 8  Backed by Buxton, Santiago silences White Sox. MLB.com (Bollinger & Merkin) p.8  Santiago shuts down White Sox as Twins win 6-0. Associated Press. P.10

Santiago shuts down White Sox as Twins win 6-0

Phil Miller | Star Tribune | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO - The Twins are scheduled to play the White Sox 19 more times in 2017. Hector Santiago should plan on starting about, oh, 12 of them.

The veteran lefthander, a member of the White Sox himself for a couple of seasons at the start of his career, wrapped up his first (two-month) season as a Twin on a note of brilliance Saturday, limiting Chicago to just three singles over 6 1/3 shutout innings. With rookies Jorge Polanco and providing offense via a pair of two-run homers, the Twins coasted to a 6-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.

Santiago’s superb night — he walked three and struck out six — was his fourth of the season against the team that drafted him. The 28-year-old lefthander improved to 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA four starts against the White Sox this season, two of them for the Twins and two for the Angels, who sent him to Minnesota at the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Meanwhile, Brian Dozier’s quest to become the first Twin in a decade, and seventh in history, to score 100 runs and drive in 100 may have ended in disappointment. The second baseman, who scored his 104th run but has remained stuck on 99 RBIs since Sept. 22, left the game after striking out in the seventh inning with a soreness in his right quad. He’s unlikely to play in Sunday’s season finale.

Polanco drove Dozier in with a into the right-field porch in the fourth inning, and Buxton clubbed his ninth of the season into the left- field bleachers in the fifth. That gives the Twins 198 home runs on the season, with a chance to reach 200 for the first time since 1964 on Sunday.

Can Twins afford to be patient after a six-year stretch of mostly lousy baseball?

Phil Miller | Star Tribune | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO – Tom Brunansky has had a major role on both 100-loss teams in Twins history, as their rookie right fielder for the 60-102 seventh- placers in 1982, and as the hitting coach for this year’s 57-103 disaster. Naturally, he sees a lot of parallels between the two seemingly cursed teams. And as he looks around the clubhouse and thinks back 34 years, he believes those similarities build an ironclad case for …

Despair? Anger? Mass firings, a wave of releases, dozens of trades?

“Patience,” Brunansky said, invoking a word that has become an expletive for a wide swath of the Twins’ fan base.

That lack of patience is understandable, because the Twins have been terrible for most of six seasons now, and this year, juxtaposed with the encouragement provided by an often exciting 2015, was the worst yet: The pitching cratered, the hitters demonstrated little concept of the strike zone, and the architect of it all, General Manager Terry Ryan, was fired by a team famous for its inexhaustible … yep, patience.

So how can 2016 be judged as anything but an unmitigated disaster?

Even Paul Molitor, assured by owner Jim Pohlad’s absolution that he will survive the wreckage and return as manager in 2017, has a difficult time believing what he has seen. “It certainly didn’t go the way I expected,” Molitor said of his second season in charge. “You try to find ways to grow through the adversity that we’ve faced — and it’s been significant. You don’t want to lose the belief or the hope that there were things that could have happened along the way that might have changed … at least the course we were on. We didn’t see the progress that we had hoped.”

Far from it. The Twins scored roughly the same number of runs they managed a season ago, a below-average 710 this year. But they are a couple of bad innings this weekend from setting a franchise record for runs allowed, and becoming the first team since the 2008 Rangers to allow more than 900.

At the plate, they are chasing futility, too; the Twins entered the weekend with an astronomical 1,405 , just 25 short of their three- year-old franchise record.

Put it all together, and the numbers look even worse: A nine-game losing streak to open the season. An eight-game skid to open May. Thirteen straight losses to close August, and a 2-11 slog to close the season, so far. Five losing months out of six, four of them without even winning 10 games.

“The season balanced itself out for a fairly extended period [in July], but then the ending was probably worse than the beginning,” Molitor said. “When’s the last time we won two games in a row?”

That would be Aug. 16 and 17 in Atlanta — 40 games ago.

Brian Dozier was one of the few bright spots to the season, and even his year appeared to be a debacle after two months. He batted .202 through April and May, had only five home runs to offset his 35 strikeouts, and the debate had begun about whether the former All-Star should be benched. “We were all a little bit in shock in those first couple of months. We didn’t recognize this team. We couldn’t understand what went wrong, and I guess we still don’t,” said Dozier, who reversed course with perhaps the greatest four-month stretch — an MLB-leading 28 home runs after the All-Star break — by a Twin since Harmon Killebrew’s era. “There’s a lot more talent here than we’ve shown, but once you start to spiral, it’s hard to change things around.”

Many have tried …

The Twins have used 49 different players this season, 29 of them on the mound, both franchise records. Glen Perkins, their three-time All-Star closer, pitched only twice before specialists discovered a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder, an injury that imperils his career. Perkins’ replacement, Kevin Jepsen, allowed runs in as many appearances as he didn’t, and was unceremoniously cut before midseason.

Phil Hughes was hoping for a return to the form that earned him a $42 million contract extension, but after just 11 starts and a fractured knee, he too needed major surgery to remove a rib.

Trevor Plouffe played only half the season because of a multitude of injuries. Miguel Sano’s move to right field proved to be a debacle, and it ended with a trip to the disabled list. New designated hitter Byung Ho Park started well but faded and was sent to the minor leagues. and Oswaldo Arcia did, too; Arcia was eventually lost on waivers, and Rosario fractured a thumb. With a depleted and overworked pitching staff, the Twins were forced to continually raid Class AAA Rochester for emergency help of varying quality.

“There are a lot of moving parts to any season,” Molitor said at one point. “But there’s not supposed to be this many.”

Even the weather turned on the Twins, who were interrupted, delayed or postponed more than two dozen times by rain.

Amid all this baseball misery, Molitor and Brunansky doggedly picture the Twins bouncing back quickly, though evidence suggests it may take a 2 while. Of the 40 AL teams that have lost 100 games since Minnesota joined the league in 1961, only six posted a winning record the following year. The average record following a 100-loss season: 70-92. Hurray.

Yet Molitor and Brunansky doggedly look for clear skies and sunshine.

“I always find ways to imagine scenarios that increase the pace of our recovery,” Molitor said. He singled out infielder Jorge Polanco, for instance. “It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but I like the intangibles of his desire to prepare. He seems to have a steadiness to him that I think is required to be successful,” the manager said. “He’s impressed me.”

Brunansky harkens back to that 1982 team for hope. Of the 10 players who appeared in at least 89 games, only one had spent more than a month or two in the big leagues. Like Byron Buxton, , Jose Berrios and Polanco, those players were getting force-fed major league experience, and slowly adapted. Two years later, that team challenged for the AL West title until the final week of the season.

“The record is what it is, but the players — they’re benefiting. The first stage is, prove to my teammates I can play. Then prove to the league that I belong. And the next stage is, I want to win,” Brunansky said. “We’re trying to expedite the process, but it never changes. Young guys come up and struggle, and it’s not because they can’t play, it’s because it takes time. It just takes time.”

Minnesota Twins lose for 103rd time as Kurt Suzuki prepares to move on

La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | October 2, 2016

Kyle Wright, who pitches for Vanderbilt, is among a group of the best pitching prospects, but unlike some years at this early stage, it's hard to find a clear-cut No. 1 pick in next year's draft.

We usually take this time to review what has happened this season and predict the offseason award winners. This year will be a little different.

We’re going to look ahead, all right — right past the awards all the way to the 2017 draft.

It just so happens that a certain baseball team has lost so many games that it has clinched the worst record in baseball. That’s right, the Twins will have the first overall pick in the 2017 first-year player draft and should have the most bonus money to spend, based on league recommendations. It will be the first time since 2001 (Joe Mauer) and the second time ever that the Twins have had the top pick in the draft.

Get used to seeing or hearing the term “1-1,” over the next several months. That’s what the first pick of the first round is called.

Given the state of the Twins pitching staff, there will be interest in the club selecting a college — think immediate help — with the pick.

“Early on, I think we have a chance to get an impact player,” Twins scouting director Deron Johnson said. “You’re going to be forced to take a pitcher and all that. Our belief has always been to take the best player available, and I think you really have to do that picking 1-1.”

No consensus No. 1 pick has emerged yet. There doesn’t appear to be a Bryce Harper-type talent in the group.

But there are college in the mix for the top spot:

• Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt: Wright has good size — he’s 6-feet, 4 inches and 220 pounds — and throws three pitches that are considered to be above average.

• J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, North Carolina: Throws 92-94 miles per hour but has reached the upper 90s at times and has a very good . There are questions whether he’s more of a reliever than a starter.

• Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida: Twins fans will recognize the last name. He’s a second cousin of Lenny Faedo, the first-round pick of the Twins in 1978. Alex Faedo, 6 feet, 5 inches, throws 93-95 with a good slider. He recently had arthroscopic surgery on both knees and will miss fall baseball but should be ready for spring games.

The Twins could be tempted by high school prospect Hunter Greene, a shortstop/righthander from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, 3

Calif. — the same school that produced Giancarlo Stanton. Greene has power. He hits 97 mph on the gun. There’s never been a prep righthander taken first overall, but Greene could settle in at short or third base.

And Johnson has visited the family.

“He is an impact talent,” John Manuel of Baseball America said of Greene.

That’s the very early skinny on the 2017 draft class, a class that will change as the high school signing period nears.

“We still have nine months,” Johnson said. “Lots of things can change by then. wasn’t a 1-1 in September and October of 2011. But he was the next June.”

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

Indians: Danny Salazar has been out with a right forearm strain, which makes starting a postseason game unlikely. But he threw in the bullpen last week with no problems, so the Cleveland coaching staff believes Salazar could be used out of the bullpen during the postseason. Salazar came down with the injury during a Sept. 9 outing against the Twins.

Royals: Lefthander Danny Duffy is in position to torment the Twins for a few years. He was 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA against them this year as he emerged as the ace of the Royals’ staff with an overall record of 12-3 and a 3.51 ERA. His 188 strikeouts set a club record for lefthanders. Tigers: If Detroit needs to play a makeup game on Monday — its game with Cleveland was rained out Thursday — the Tigers could start rookie righthander Michael Fulmer, above. He needs three more innings to qualify for the league leaders, and his 3.06 ERA could win the title. It also could help his candadacy for Rookie of the Year.

White Sox: The White Sox could be looking for a new manager after finishing under .500 for three consecutive seasons. Robin Ventura is a free agent, but there are no indications what he plans to do. Current bench coach Rick Renteria is highly thought of in baseball circles, but what if Chicago looks for someone with more experience, such as Ron Gardenhire?

THE 3-2 PITCH

Three observations...

… and two predictions

Minnesota Twins: Disappointing year winds down for Joe Mauer

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO — Not even a chance to face James Shields and his 6.79 earned-run average could get Joe Mauer out of dry dock on Saturday night.

Still plagued by a strained right quadriceps muscle, Mauer was out of starting lineup for the 11th time in the past 12 games. Twins manager Paul Molitor discussed the lineup decision with his star first baseman and opted to go without Mauer in an eventual 6-0 Twins victory, even with lefty ace Chris Sale working Sunday’s season finale.

Twins left-hander Hector Santiago (13-10) combined with three relievers on a four-hit shutout. The Twins improved to 58-103 as Jorge Polanco and Byron Buxton each homered.

“It’s at a point now where (Mauer’s) at-bats have been so limited, I don’t know if it would be really even fair,” Molitor said. “I didn’t plan to play him. I wanted to see where he was at with that. He said, ‘I’ll prepare to be ready.’ My choice was not to play him and I think that’s the right thing, given all the circumstances.”

Hitting .313 in 48 career at-bats against Shields, Mauer is four hitless at-bats away from seeing his already career-low batting average slip below .260. Since injuring his leg while running the bases on Aug. 16 in Atlanta, Mauer has hit .146 with 17 strikeouts in just 82 at-bats.

His on-base percentage was just .255 in that span and he has slugged an anemic .244 as the Twins went 4-18 when he played.

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“When it first happened, I was asked about the (disabled list) and whether it would be a possibility if it was earlier in the year,” Molitor said. “I probably changed my mind on that a little bit. It probably would have been best to try to clear it up rather than try to go out there and play it out. Then we might be talking about it in a little different light.”

Mauer, 33, said he planned to go home Sunday and start the recovery process after trying to play through his quad injury.

“I’m going to rest first,” he said. “The offseason consists of building your body back up for the season. Once I clean up all those nicks and things you acquire over a season, it’s time to get after it and build your body up for the next one.”

Season No 13 for Mauer in the majors started fast as he hit .321 in April and had his combined on-base/slugging percentage over .800 as late as that three-hit game in Atlanta.

His numbers have suffered greatly amid sporadic playing time over the season’s final seven weeks.

“It’s been a physical battle for him,” Molitor said.

The good news is there were no post-concussion issues for Mauer, now more than three years removed from the August 2013 concussion that forced him to hang up his catcher’s gear for good.

“That’s the first question on concussions I’ve had all this year,” he said, smiling. “Thanks for bringing that up. Knock on wood, we hadn’t talked about concussions and that’d be the last interview to talk about them.”

He said he plans to use the next couple of weeks to “reflect and see what areas we can improve and what areas were good” before crafting his offseason workout plan.

“There’s a lot of things we’re going to do this offseason to try to get better,” he said.

Down to two years and $46 million remaining on his eight-year contract, Mauer was able to contribute 2.2 Wins Above Replacement, as measured by Baseball-Reference.com. That’s the highest it’s been since 2013, when he was a five-WAR player for the fifth time in eight years.

With the first-half arrival of Byung Ho Park, Mauer made just 93 starts at first base, his lowest mark since the position switch.

How concerned is Molitor about being about to keep Mauer on the field more frequently next season, when he turns 34 in April?

“I don’t really think that’s something I concern myself with in terms of carryovers,” the manager said. “Whether you’re 23 or 33, there’s always a risk of having injuries and pulled muscles and things like that. It doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a carryover into how you look at a guy’s durability moving forward.”

With Mauer’s star-crossed injury history, however, one might suggest potential carryover is always a concern.

“Joe does his work,” Molitor added. “He’ll come into camp healthy, and we’ll see if we can find a way to sustain it.”

Typically immune from situational lefties, Mauer it hitting a career-low .224 against same-sided pitching this season. That’s one point lower than his mark from 2005 and 10 points lower than 2011, when he was plagued by bilateral leg weakness.

Of 162 hitters with at least 120 plate appearances against lefties, Mauer’s combined on-base/slugging percentage of .610 was 14th-worst in the majors. Twins rookie right fielder Max Kepler was seven spots lower at .580.

“He was our best player early,” Molitor said. “He kind of leveled off there for a while, and he got it going again there for a bit in late July, early August. There are things you can point out that were pretty good, given all things considered, and other things that it hasn’t been maybe what he had hoped in terms of the entirety of what he did this year.”

All in all?

“There’s still value there for me for sure,” Molitor said.

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Minnesota Twins: Phil Hughes, Glen Perkins working back from surgeries

Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO — Twins manager Paul Molitor on Saturday offered year-end health updates on two of his more accomplished pitchers, neither of whom was healthy enough to help out much in 2016.

Right-hander Phil Hughes, working back from a fractured fibula and July rib-removal surgery, progressed out to 120 feet while playing catch during the last homestand.

“He was expressing a lot of satisfaction in where he was,” Molitor said.

Hughes told the Pioneer Press in August he hoped to be throwing bullpens by October before shutting things down and resuming a normal throwing program by early January.

“He’s doing really well in terms of what he’s had to recover from,” Molitor said.”When you look at our starting pitching, that guy coming back healthy, it’s nothing that you count on, but we’re trying to push him and we’ll try to make sure he knows that he’s got a chance to come back here and help us get this thing going in the right direction.”

Hughes, who turned 30 in June, went 1-7 with a 5.95 earned-run average in 59 innings, the second-lowest total of his career.

Meanwhile, closer Glen Perkins is making progress after having major surgery on June 23 to reattach a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. The success rate for such procedures can be as low as 10 percent, which puts the three-time all-star’s career in jeopardy.

“We all know the odds and the numbers on those surgeries for people, and we’re just hoping for the best,” Molitor said. “I think they’ve been relatively pleased with the recovery from the surgery and the injury.”

Perkins, who turns 34 next March, is slated to continue his rehab in Fort Myers, Fla., this winter.

“I’m not sure when throwing will become a bigger part of what he does,” Molitor said.

DOZIER LEAVES GAME

Right oblique soreness caused Twins second baseman Brian Dozier to be removed in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Still stuck on 99 runs batted in to go with his 42 home runs, Dozier suggested he was highly unlikely to start in Sunday’s season finale against Chris Sale.

“I might be from Mississippi but I ain’t dumb,” Dozier said. “I always play through injuries. A lot of us do. But this was one where I didn’t want to push it. There’s no sense in that.”

Dozier felt his right side grab as he swung at a 2-0 fastball from James Shields in the first inning. He stayed in and went 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts, dropping him to 2 for 37 (.054) since hitting his last homer on Sept. 22.

Dozier, who had a homer wiped out by rain on Aug. 10 against Houston, was trying to become the seventh Twins player to both score and drive in 100 runs. Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett each did it twice, placing them in a group with Bob Allison (1962), Rod Carew (1977), Corey Koskie (2001) and Michael Cuddyer (2006).

“If it meant anything, that’s a whole different ball game,” Dozier said. “There’s no going out there trying to get another RBI or anything like that. That’s not me by any means. That’s not us.”

While Dozier figures to get a few votes for Most Valuable Player, he isn’t going to be fretting over his eventual finish. 6

“That is the last thing on my mind,” he said. “I could care less if I’m last place in MVP voting or first place. That stuff means nothing to me, and I really am being honest with you.”

Who would Dozier like to endorse among his AL cohorts?

“If I had a vote, I would say the best player in the big leagues this year would probably be Mookie Betts,” Dozier said of the Boston Red Sox right fielder. “An all-around player — defensively, offensively, stealing bags, power, average, on base. He brings more to the table for his team than anybody else.”

Betts’ 7.7 Wins Above Replacement are second in the AL to Mike Trout, according to FanGraphs.com. Dozier was eighth at 6.0.

MONTHLY MISERY

The Twins were outscored by a majors-worst 47 runs in September, when they went 8-19, matching their second-worst monthly record this year.

While the were next overall at minus-43 runs for September, the Houston Astros and Oakland A’s were minus-24 in the AL.

For the year, the Twins had been outscored by 176 runs entering Saturday’s play. Only the Phillies (minus-187) had been worse in the majors, while there was a 66-run gap after the Twins in the AL to the A’s (minus-110).

From there, no other AL club had been outscored by as many as 50 runs this season.

BRIEFLY

After piling up double-figure strikeouts in a game for the 65th time, the Twins will enter Sunday at 1,415 strikeouts this year. Only the 2013 club (1,430) fanned more in combined Senators/Twins franchise history. … Homers by Jorge Polanco and Byron Buxton gave the Twins 198 on the year. That trails just two teams in combined franchise history: the 1963 Twins (225) and the 1964 club (221).

Molitor: Mauer out of lineup for final 2 games

Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO -- Twins manager Paul Molitor met with Joe Mauer before Saturday's game against the White Sox and informed the first baseman that he didn't plan to start him in either of Minnesota's final two games. Mauer has been dealing with a strained right quad since mid-August, and it's led to complications with his left leg as well. He's made one start dating back to Sept. 18, coming on Sunday against the Mariners.

"I talked to him today," Molitor said. "Throughout the week we've had the lefties and it's to that point now where his at-bats have been so limited I don't even know if it would be really even fair. I didn't plan to play him. I wanted to see where he was at with that. He said he prepared to be ready, but it was my choice not to play him. I think that's the right thing given the circumstances."

Mauer said he almost started Friday night and has been preparing himself to play every day, but he understood Molitor's decision. He said his legs should heal with rest in the offseason.

Molitor said looking back he should've placed Mauer on the 15-day disabled list instead of letting him play through the injury, as Mauer has hit .146 with a homer and 12 RBIs in 22 games since straining his quad in Atlanta on Aug. 16.

Mauer was hitting .284/.384/.417 before the injury, but will finish the year hitting .261/.363/.389 with 11 homers, 22 doubles and 49 RBIs in 134 games, barring a pinch-hit appearance.

"He was our best player early and he kind of leveled off for a while," Molitor said. "He got it going again there from late July through early August, but then the last six weeks roughly it's been a physical battle for him. There are things you can point out that were pretty good but other things where maybe it hasn't been what he hoped it was in terms of the entirety of this year."

Mauer said he'll reflect more on the season once it's over, but added it's been tough being part of a team that set the Twins record for losses in 7 a season, especially considering they planned to compete this year.

"We didn't do what we thought we could do," Mauer said. "It was a lot of losses. Usually, the week after or two weeks after, I really look back and see what we can do to improve, myself included. But it hasn't been a very good year and there are a lot of things we can improve on."

Mauer is curious what the new front office will do to improve the team this offseason, and believes they can turn it around with their young talent, but that they need to cut down on their mistakes.

"There are some positives in there but it's hard to look at that right now," Mauer said. "But we'll try to build on those and correct the things we need to correct. I hope we're moving in the right direction. We have a lot of talent in this room, but people are figuring out you can't win on just talent. Sometimes you have to experience things to get better."

Dozier likely to miss finale with sore oblique

Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO -- Twins second baseman Brian Dozier left Saturday's 6-0 win over the White Sox in the seventh inning with right oblique soreness, and he is likely to be out for the season finale on Sunday, which would cost him the chance of reaching 100 RBIs and tying the record for homers hit by a player who primarily played second base.

Dozier went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a walk and a run scored before coming out of the game. He's been in a slump down the stretch, going 2-for-34 at the plate with no homers dating back to Sept. 22. He said the injury came on his first swing of the night in the first inning against right-hander James Shields and that he came out for precautionary reasons to avoid the injury getting worse.

"I think in an earlier stage in my career I would've been playing, but I didn't want to be stupid," Dozier said. "My right side kept tightening up and I felt it on every swing. I might be from Mississippi, but I ain't dumb. I always play through injuries, but with where we're at, I didn't want to push it."

Dozier, who has 42 home runs, is one homer away from tying the Major League record for homers hit by a player who primarily played second base set by Davey Johnson in 1973. Dozier is also two away from tying the Major League record for homers by a second baseman, as two of his homers came as a designated hitter. Johnson shares the record of 42 with Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, as one of Johnson's homers in '73 came as a pinch-hitter.

Dozier, who has scored 104 runs, is one RBI away from 100. With one more RBI, he'd become the first Twins player to have 100 RBIs and 100 runs in a season since Michael Cuddyer in 2006. But Dozier said he didn't care about any of those milestones and was reluctant to talk about his season with Minnesota having lost 103 games heading into Sunday.

"Personally, I hate talking about it, but I felt like as a hitter I made strides and got better," Dozier said. "I can continue to do that. There are some things I can change and get better at in the offseason."

Dozier has yet to meet with manager Paul Molitor about the potential of playing on Sunday, but like Dozier, Molitor said it's highly unlikely he'll play again. If Dozier doesn't play, he'll finish the year hitting .268/.340/.546 with 42 homers, 35 doubles and five triples in 155 games.

"He's sore," Molitor said. "I saw in the first inning, and he took a swing and he had a little wince. It increasingly bothered him during the game and is in that oblique area. Potentially it could shut him down tomorrow. I would imagine that would be the most likely scenario, which is tough to see it end like that with how much he's played and knocking on the 100-RBI mark and those things."

Backed by Buxton, Santiago silences White Sox

Rhett Bollinger and Scott Merkin| MLB.com | October 2, 2016

CHICAGO -- The White Sox drafted Hector Santiago in 2006 and developed him as a starter, closer and everything in between. The left-hander has shown his gratitude by beating the White Sox yet again on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field, as Santiago pushed the Twins to a 6-0 victory.

Santiago spun 6 1/3 scoreless frames against his former team, scattering three hits and three walks to get the win. Santiago improved to 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA in four starts against the White Sox this year. He also finished 3-6 with a 5.58 ERA in 11 starts with Minnesota after being 8 acquired from the Angels at the Trade Deadline.

"In the last two years, I've pitched really well against them," Santiago said. "I know these guys and know their entire staff. I came up through the organization with a lot of those guys. I don't know, maybe I have a chip on my shoulder after being traded."

"Just sneaky, man," said White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier of Santiago. "He's throwing 91, hit 93 at times. Sitting there like what the heck is going on. I'm swinging through, got a hole in my bat. Maybe it's motion or he's a competitor."

James Shields suffered the defeat, despite working seven innings. The Twins got to him for two in the fourth after he retired the first nine, two in the fifth and one in the seventh. Shields finished the season with 19 losses between stops in San Diego and Chicago and with a 4-12 mark in 22 starts for the White Sox, striking out seven and walking three in his final trip to the mound this season.

Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco delivered two-run blasts in support of Santiago. Buxton also scored from first with two outs in the seventh on Juan Centeno's double and did the same with two outs in the ninth.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Hip, Hip Jorge: The Twins didn't get their first hit off Shields until the fourth inning, but it came on a two-run shot to right from Polanco after Brian Dozier drew a walk. It was the rookie's fourth homer of the year. Polanco's homer came on a 1-0 , leaving the bat at 97 mph and going a projected 378 feet, per Statcast™.

"We didn't have a ton of hits but took advantage following up walks with homers," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Polanco got a changeup that was up a little bit, and he took advantage."

Turning 40 is tough: With two home runs allowed Saturday night, Shields has given up 40 on the season and allowed 31 in 22 starts with the White Sox. Shields became the first pitcher to allow 40 homers in a season since Bronson Arroyo (46) for the 2011 Reds.

"I made two bad pitches, and I think the one to Buxton was actually down and away, and he just went out and got it," Shields said. "That's just the kind of year I'm having. I make two bad pitches, and it costs me."

Buck shot: Buxton has been impressive since being called up on Sept. 1, as the rookie center fielder crushed his eighth homer since rejoining the Twins. Buxton jumped on a 2-2 cutter, sending it a projected 404 feet, per Statcast™. It also had an exit velocity of 103 mph.

"We're seeing improvement from his at-bats, especially after falling behind early," Molitor said. "We talk about process a lot, but the more you get into those situations, you can learn what guys are trying to do once they get ahead of you."

Just short of 100: Entering Sunday's final game, Jose Abreu sits at 99 RBIs and Frazier is at 98. The two combined to finish 0-for-6 with two walks drawn by Abreu on Saturday.

"I remember Dusty Baker always told us, 'Round those numbers up at the end of the year,'" Frazier said. "He had 99 RBIs one time, and he was sick to his stomach not getting 100. Right now I'm pressing these last two games trying to get to 100 instead of squaring the ball up and going from there."

QUOTABLE "I think we figured out some things over the last month to carry into the offseason and into Spring Training." -- Shields, who had a 6.77 ERA with the White Sox

DOZIER LEAVES WITH INJURY Dozier exited the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with right oblique soreness, getting replaced by Eduardo Escobar. Dozier went 0- for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk at the plate and isn't likely to play in the series finale on Sunday. He remains one RBI short of 100 and one homer short of tying the record for the most homers by a player who primarily played second base.

"I think in an earlier stage in my career I would've been playing, but I didn't want to be stupid," Dozier said. "My right side kept tightening up, and I felt it on every swing. I might be from Mississippi but I ain't dumb. I always play through injuries, but with where we're at, I didn't want to push it." More >

WHAT'S NEXT 9

Twins: Rookie right-hander Jose Berrios (2-7, 8.61 ERA) will start in the season finale for the Twins on Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field at 2:10 p.m. CT. Berrios is looking to end the year on a high note, as the highly touted 22-year-old has registered only one quality start in 13 outings.

White Sox: Chris Sale (17-9, 3.21) gets the honor of pitching the season finale for the White Sox, looking for a single-season career-high in victories. He will be making a 32nd start, but he won't likely won't add to his Major League-leading six complete games, as he won't work all the way unless something special is taking place.

Santiago shuts down White Sox as Twins win 6-0

Associated Press| October 2, 2016

CHICAGO -- Far removed from the playoff races, James Shields was trying to avoid his 19th defeat this season while facing the 103-loss Minnesota Twins.

It resulted in a rare night of smiles for Minnesota while confusion surrounded White Sox manager Robin Ventura's future.

Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco each hit a two-run home run to send Shields to a major league high-tying 19th loss, and the Twins beat Chicago 6-0 on Saturday night.

The Twins haven't lost this many games since the franchise moved to Minnesota, but in this one, they got 6 1/3 innings of three-hit ball from Hector Santiago (13-10) for their third win in 14 games.

Buddy Boshers, J.T. Chargois and Brandon Kintzler completed the four-hitter.

"We've lost enough games already," Santiago said. "So you go out there and try to give your team a chance to compete and win."

The Chicago Sun-Times reported during the game that Ventura, who is in the last year of his contract, would not return after five seasons and that Rick Renteria, a former manager of the Chicago Cubs, would likely replace him.

Ventura wouldn't answer questions about his future.

"I just said all along that I'm going to talk about it at the end," Ventura said.

Meanwhile, White Sox players claimed they hadn't heard the news.

"I don't know what's going on," third baseman Todd Frazier.

Shields (6-19) concluded a career-worst season split between San Diego and Chicago by allowing five runs and four hits over seven innings. His 40 home runs and 118 earned runs allowed are the most in the majors. Only Tampa Bay's Chris Archer has as many losses.

Polanco homered in the fourth and Buxton connected an inning later off Shields. Juan Centeno added run-scoring doubles in the seventh and ninth.

Shields is 4-12 since being traded to the White Sox in June.

"That's just the kind of year I'm having," Shields said. "I make two bad pitches, and it costs me."

Buxton continued his late-season emergence. The former top prospect hit .193 with one homer in his first 63 games this season, but then batted .277 with seven homers, 18 RBIs and a .936 OPS in September.

The 34-year-old Shields was an All-Star in Tampa Bay, helped Kansas City to the World Series in 2014 and entered the year with a major league- high nine straight 200-inning seasons. That streak ended as Shields finished with 181 2/3 innings and a 5.85 ERA.

Santiago, who spent parts of three seasons with the White Sox, struck out six. He improved to 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA in four starts against Chicago this year, with two coming before he was traded by the Angels on Aug. 1.

"Maybe a chip on the shoulder from being traded that first time, especially being there for so long and them moving me," Santiago said. "Going 10 against those guys it makes you step your game up because that's the team that brought you up and they got rid of you. So you want to go out there and beat them every time."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Twins: Brian Dozier went 1 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts before exiting with right oblique soreness. "Earlier stage of my career I'd probably keep playing," Dozier said. "I didn't want to be stupid." Dozier is in a 2-for-37 slump and remains at 99 RBIs. ... Molitor decided not to start 1B Joe Mauer (quadriceps) again this season.

LOT OF HOMERS

Shields is the first pitcher to allow 40 home runs in a season since Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo gave up 46 in 2011.

MOLITOR UNPLUGGED

Molitor was blunt when asked to evaluate his team, which has the franchise's worst record since the Washington Senators went 50-104 in 1949.

He described the pitching as "at a level that's probably the most significant reason we're setting a Twins record for losses."

Asked about the AL-high 126 errors, Molitor said it would be a point of emphasis next spring because "it's been crazy the total we've been able to accumulate."

Molitor described the toll of all the losing by acknowledging you can "feel the attitude and the deflation each time that we walk off the field and aren't able to shake hands."

UP NEXT

Amid speculation he could be traded in the offseason to accommodate a rebuild, White Sox ace Chris Sale (17-9, 3.21 ERA) seeks his career-best 18th win in Sunday's season finale. RHP Jose Berrios (2-7, 8.61) starts for the Twins.

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