Minnesota Twins Daily Clips
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Twins players moved over details of Rod Carew's heart transplant. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 1 Twins lose series opener to White Sox on soggy night at Target Field. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 2 Thoughts on Dozier, Mauer and Buxton after Twins lose to the White Sox. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 3 Rod Carew opens up about organ transplant; donor revealed as former NFL player. Star Tribune (Justin) p. 4 Expensive veteran pitchers fueling Twins' success so far. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 4 After rain delay, Twins face Chicago's history-making all-Garcia outfield. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 5 Rare homer off Ryan Pressly proves difference in 2-1 Twins loss. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 6 Better posture helps Jason Castro fashion rare fast start at the plate. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 7 Pick a position, and Twins’ Chris Gimenez can play it. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 Rod Carew’s new heart, kidney came from late NFL player. Pioneer Press p. 10 Mejia K's 4 White Sox in opener loss. MLB (Bollinger & Donnelly) p. 11 Twins' Kepler makes Statcast five-star grab. MLB (Bollinger) p. 12 Santana faces White Sox on Jackie Day. MLB (Bollinger) p. 12 Patience at plate leading to success for Sano. MLB (Bollinger) p. 13 Keep your eye on him: Berrios off to a great start at Triple-A Rochester. ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 14 Twins’ Santana goes against White Sox’s Quintana (Apr 15, 2017). FOX Sports p. 14 Davidson's HR lifts White Sox over Twins 2-1. ESPN p. 15 Rod Carew's transplanted heart, kidney donated from ex-Ravens TE Konrad Reuland. (Hensley) ESPN p. 17 How a deceased former NFL player saved Rod Carew's life. Yahoo! Sports (Oz) p. 17 Rod Carew received former NFL player Konrad Reuland’s heart. NBC Sports (Calcterra) p. 18 'Second chance': Rod Carew saved by heart from 29-year-old NFL player. CNN (Almasy) p. 19 Rod Carew Meets Family Of NFL Player Whose Heart He Received As Transplant. ThePostGame (Staff) p. 20 Baseball hall-of-famer's heart transplant beats with inspiration. CBS Evening News (Hartman) p. 20
Twins players moved over details of Rod Carew's heart transplant LaVelle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 15, 2017
About 20 Twins players have been on a text string with Rhonda Carew over the past several months, receiving updates about Hall of Famer Rod Carew as he waited for a heart transplant.
They were all thrilled when a donor heart became available in December. On Friday, they learned where the heart came from.
“I read the story, and I started tearing up,” Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said.
Carew, who was on the transplant list after suffering a massive heart attack in September 2015, now has the heart of Konrad Reuland, a former NFL player with the Jets and Ravens.
Reuland was working out on Dec. 12 when he suffered an aneurysm and died. His family donated his organs.
Carew was moved up the donor list on Dec. 9 after Rhonda and doctors lobbied for him after a subdural hematoma he dealt with in July made it impossible for him to take blood thinners. After the heart attack, Carew was fitted with a left ventricular assist device that helped pump blood and had been waiting for a transplant.
Surgery took place on Dec. 14. According to the San Jose Mercury News, friends read the two stories and wondered if it was the same heart. Reuland’s mother, Mary, contacted Rhonda. A meeting between the families was arranged, and they are now forever connected.
Dozier is thrilled for Carew, but he’s also thrilled about what kind of person Konrad was.
“Being faith-based, I think of how good of a guy Rod is,” Dozier said. “Then I learned about Konrad. You can’t make this stuff up.”
Carew is slowly becoming more active, such as being allowed to drive a car. Twins President Dave St. Peter said that Carew remains under a travel restriction but, hopefully, will be cleared to attend a Twins game by midsummer.
“You cannot help but be filled with an array of emotions when learning about Rod Carew’s connection with Konrad Reuland,” St. Peter said. “The Minnesota Twins organization sends prayers to the Reuland family. In my view, today’s a day to celebrate Konrad’s life as well as his impact on and off the field.”
Nailed down
Brandon Kintzler has not appeared in a game since Sunday, which has been good for his right index finger.
In his last outing, his cracked fingernail began to bleed despite attempts to glue it together. Moreover, some of the glue got on his finger.
“Then I couldn’t feel the ball,” Kintzler said. “Every ball I threw to the first guy in the ninth went in the ground.”
Both Kintzler and manager Paul Molitor think the time off has helped.
One unknown is whether he will be able to handle a busy workload, back-to-back games or three games in five days.
“No, I’m sure I will be fine,” Kintzler said.
He initially cracked it during spring training. He thinks it’s because he’s throwing more sliders. Last season, 7.3 percent of his pitches were sliders. This year, it’s up to 19.2 percent. Consequently, he’s down to 80.8 percent fastballs from 88.0 last season.
“I haven’t thrown sliders in years,” Kintzler said. “That nail is probably trying figure out what’s going on.”
The Twins want Kintzler to stick with the slider usage, but the nail could have something to say about that.
“It’s a pretty good slider,” Molitor said.
Etc.
• First baseman ByungHo Park, on the seven-day disabled list at Class AAA Rochester, has a right hamstring strain that’s not considered serious, Molitor said.
• Lefthander Tyler Jay, the sixth overall pick in 2015, is on the seven-day DL at Class AA Chattanooga with biceps tendinitis. The Twins hope he can return to action in early May.
Twins lose series opener to White Sox on soggy night at Target Field LaVelle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 15, 2017
The first two Twins to bat on Friday reached base. Then there were two doubles in the second inning. The home team had leadoff hitters reach base in each of the first three innings.
The Twins had one run to show for it. One.
And that allowed an untested White Sox pitcher to wiggle his way into the middle innings. And it allowed Matt Davidson’s late-inning homer to 2 help Chicago edge the Twins 2-1 in the first of a three-game series at Target Field.
That 2-1 score didn’t work well in the Twin Cities on Friday. But the number of runs matched the number of Garcias in the White Sox lineup. The White Sox starting outfield was Willy Garcia in left, Leury Garcia in center and Avisail Garcia in right. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in major league history that three players with the same last name started in the same outfield.
Reliever Dan Jennings got the win for the White Sox, but it was Dylan Covey — a Rule 5 pick by Chicago in December — who gave up just one earned run over 5 ⅓ innings. Fresh meat was on the mound against a Twins offense that lacked bite.
“We had that guy in his first start,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “We put a little pressure on him, but we couldn’t push a lot across early. We had some hitter’s counts early. We rolled over a lot of balls tonight. I give him credit for hanging in there.”
Twins lefthander Adalberto Mejia was a little better in his second outing, holding the White Sox to one run over five innings on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Last Saturday in Chicago, he was pulled in the second inning after throwing 40 pitches but getting only two outs
“I felt better,” Mejia said. “More confident. I left the past in the past, and I prepared better for this start.”
Despite Molitor’s lineup construction, destruction and reconstruction, the Twins have not found a nine that can consistently generate offense. A few were on point Friday. Brian Dozier was 2-for-3 with a stolen base but was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in the fifth on a very close play.
“It looked to me like the replay was inconclusive,” Molitor said.
Jorge Polanco was 2-for-3. Miguel Sano drew two walks. But a few other hitters are searching for their swings.
The Twins were set up for a fast start in the first when Dozier singled and stole second and Robbie Grossman followed with a walk. But Joe Mauer tapped into a double play, the start of his 0-for-4 night that dropped his average to .188.
“He’s centered up a fair amount of balls that haven’t ended up in hits,” Molitor said. “We all know he hits into the defense a lot. That’s one of the problems with good at-bats that don’t get hits.”
Max Kepler doubled to lead off the second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Jason Castro’s groundout. That was the Twins offense at its best on Friday.
Dozier led off the third with a walk, and that was followed by three consecutive fielder’s choices. The Twins stranded seven runners on base Friday and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. One hit early could have made a difference.
“It might have changed the complexion a little bit,” Molitor said. “I’m sure [Covey] gained confidence every time he went back out there with the score tied.”
Thoughts on Dozier, Mauer and Buxton after Twins lose to the White Sox La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | April 15, 2017
WAS DOZIER SAFE?: Brian Dozier crushed a ball to center field in the fifth and tried to turn it into a triple. The throw came into third baseman Matt Davidson, who applied the tag to a sliding Dozier. Third base umpire Todd Tichenor called Dozier out, and Dozier immediately motioned for the Twins to challenge the call. The one thing that piqued manager Paul Molitor's interest was that Davidson appeared to keep looking for a place to tag Dozier. So the Twins challenged the call - and lost. "It looked to me like the replay was inconclusive," Molitor said. "The glove got hidden there on most of the angles as far as when contact was made. It was worth a challenge, I thought. It would have been a big overturn if we could have gotten it. We just didn't have enough of an angle to see if the glove glanced Dozier before his hand got on the base."
MAUER: Just reading that name stirs up a lot in you these days. Mauer is batting .188 and seems incapable of adjusting to shifts. Molitor pretty such said so, but in a nice way, after the game: "He's centered up a fair amount of balls that haven't resulted in hits. We all know he hits into the defense a lot. That's one of the problems with good at bats that don't get hits. He's a guy who has pretty strong tendencies." That's true more now than ever. Mauer's line drive percentage entering Friday was 28.0, which would be a career high. That suggests his hits are going to come because he's going to smoke a few over and through the shifts. He's hitting 44 percent of balls to center, which is where teams are bunching 3 him right now. His fly ball percentage is a whopping 44 percent. In 2009, the year he hit 28 home runs, it was 29.5 - the second highest of his career only to his rookie year that ended early because of knee surgery. These numbers suggest that he's going to get his hits, regardless of where the defense is playing him.
BUXTON: Another name that is popular right now. Buxton struck out just once today. His hardest hit ball smoked Tichenor in the back in the second inning. And he just missed a pitch in the eighth, flying out to medium deep left-center. Baby steps, I guess. But Buxton has to learn how to hit up here. Unless he shows signs that he needs a therapist, I would keep him up here and let him work it out.
Rod Carew opens up about organ transplant; donor revealed as former NFL player Neal Justin | Star Tribune | April 14, 2017
Rod Carew has always been a private person, which makes Friday's edition of "The CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley" essential viewing for Twins fans.
The three-minute segment with former KSTP reporter Steve Hartman is the Hall of Famer's first extensive TV interview since undergoing transplant surgery in December.
In addition to the update from Carew, the piece will include interviews with the family of the donor. The network is not revealing his name ahead of the broadcast, but the American Heart Assocation confirmed Friday morning that his new heart and kidney came from former Baltimore Ravens tight end Konrad Reuland who actually lived close to Carew in Orange County. In fact, their kids both attended the same middle school.
It is believed to be the first organ transplant between professional athletes. Another coincidence: When Reuland died of a ruptured brain aneurysm, he was 29, the same number Carew wore as a Twin.
Hartman said Friday morning that he found Carew to be down to earth and very open during their time together.
"He didn't hold back," said Hartman, who worked at KSTP from 1987 to 1991 and is now the lead reporter for "On the Road," the network's long-running feature series. "I can't think of anything I asked him that he didn't answer."
The two chatted about the time each had spent in Minnesota and how much they appreciated the genuine nature of the people there. Carew said he would probably have spent his retirement years in the state, if his wife hadn't insisted that they live in southern California, a tidbit that didn't make the final cut.
"The CBS Evening News" airs locally at 5:30 p.m. on WCCO, Ch. 4.
Expensive veteran pitchers fueling Twins' success so far Michael Rand | Star Tribune | April 14, 2017
If the Twins are going to break through at some point in the future to become a consistent contender, they likely are going to need some of their high-end young pitching talent — Jose Berrios and co. — to develop into top-of-the-rotation starters.
To bridge the gap between 2017 and the time some of those promising arms are truly ready for the big leagues, though, it’s no secret they need some of their higher-priced veterans to come through.
Through nine games, three of those pitchers are doing just that.
Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes and Hector Santiago — three of the Twins’ five highest-priced players overall and their three most expensive pitchers this season — have combined to throw 36 innings in six starts while allowing just nine total runs for a 2.25 ERA. On an per-start basis, that works out to six innings and 1.5 runs allowed. Not surprisingly, the Twins are 5-1 in those starts, with Santana, Hughes and Santiago getting the decision in each case. Santana and Hughes are both 2-0, while Santiago is 1-1 after a hard-luck loss earlier this week in Detroit.
Santana pitched well last season but received little run support in winning just seven games. Hughes was hit hard early before his season ended with injuries. Santiago was ineffective in initial starts after being acquired for Ricky Nolasco, but pitched well enough down the stretch to be brought back. Between Santana, Hughes, Nolasco and Santiago last season, only Santana had an ERA below five and the Twins received just 15 4 total victories from those four pitchers. They’re already one-third of the way there after nine games this season.
History suggests Santana, Hughes and Santiago won’t stay on their current trajectory for the entire season, but even if the runs come up a bit while the innings stay the same — say they keep averaging six innings per start while allowing between two and three runs per outing — it would go a long way toward making 2017 a relative success while charting a course for more success in the future.
After rain delay, Twins face Chicago's history-making all-Garcia outfield LaVelle E. Neal III| Star Tribune | April 14, 2017
Welp, that weather system the Twins were worried about has arrived. The start of tonight's game has been delayed. For how long, no one knows.
The system is surging from the south, making it hard to predict because it could slide east at any moment. We're all in a holding pattern here.
The Twins will be challenged to put the Wild game on the scoreboard. If they know what's good for them, they will.
UPDATE: The Twins-White Sox will now start at 7:45 p.m.
Now, back to pre-game programming below:
From 0-9 to 6-3, what difference a year makes. And now the Twins are back for a 10-game homestand against division foes.
Up first are the White Sox, who are playing a little better than people thought they were. They have been waiting for a few years for Avisail Garcia to come around, and he's off to a .452, eight RBI start.
Apparently, the White Sox are trying to run with the Garcia angle.
Reserve Leury Garcia is in the lineup at center field. And, since Melky Cabrera has left the team for paternity leave, Chicago has called up Willy Garcia.
So the outfield is Garcia in left, Garcia in center and Garcia in right. This will be the first time in major league history that all three starting outfielders have the same last name (same spelling). The Alou brothers played together late in games, but never started together. This is according to the great Elias Sports Bureau.
Also, catcher Geovany Soto is on the DL with a sore elbow. Keavan Smith has been called up and is Chicago's lineup too.
Adalberto Mejia is on the mound for the Twins, and will try to bounce back after a rough outing in Chicago during which he threw nearly 40 pitches in the second inning but could not get three outs.
Byron Buxton is batting ninth, which is a good spot for him given his troubles at the plate. What's gone somewhat overlooked has been the starts of Joe Mauer and Max Kepler. But both began to wake up at the plate late in the Detroit series. If those two start hitting, then the Twins have a pretty functional first five batters.
Will check back later with any updates.
White Sox
Tim Anderson, SS Tyler Saladino, 2B Jose Abreu, 1B Todd Frazier, DH Avisail Garcia, RF Matt Davidson, 3B Wily Garcia, LF Kevan Smith, C Leury Garcia, CF 5
Dylan Covey, RHP
Twins
Brian Dozier, 2B Robbie Grossman, DH Joe Mauer, 1B Miguel Sano, 3B Max Kepler, RF Jason Castro, C Jorge Polanco, SS Eddie Rosario, LF Byron Buxton, CF
Adalberto Mejia, LHP
Rare homer off Ryan Pressly proves difference in 2-1 Twins loss Mike Berardino |Pioneer Press | April 14, 2017
Taking Ryan Pressly deep has become a difficult feat as the Twins reliever has seen his reputation rise along with his velocity.
Before Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, the last man to homer off the hard-throwing Texan was Miguel Cabrera in the middle of September. Before that, in order, it took Evan Longoria, Mike Napoli, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Yan Gomes and Chris Carter to take Pressly deep.
Then came a soggy, rain-delayed opener to a 10-game homestand at Target Field. After blowing away the middle of the White Sox order in the sixth, Pressly went back out for a second inning and promptly gave up an opposite-field homer to young third baseman Matt Davidson.
Always considered a power prospect but one with more than a few holes in his swing, Davidson jumped all over an 89-mph slider on the outer half and drove it over the limestone overhang in right field for his third homer of the year.
“That was the difference in the game,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He got ahead of Davidson and he couldn’t get him to chase a curveball. Tried a slider and just left it up where he could get extended.”
White Sox closer David Robertson finished up for his 19th save in as many outings at Target Field. The ex-Yankee has a 0.93 earned-run average at Target Field, and current Twins are a combined 5 for 45 (.111) with 22 strikeouts.
That left the Twins winless in their only two games decided by one run. The other came Tuesday in Detroit against finesse left-hander Matt Boyd.
Pressly hadn’t worked since Sunday, which could have contributed to his first costly mistake of the season. He was lifted after retiring the next two batters on sharp line drives to right field.
“The next two were both up in the zone, too,” Molitor said. “He’s a tough guy to pull. Guys did a good job of staying on him and using the whole field.”
A disappointed Pressly declined comment.
In a matchup of rookie pitchers, Twins lefty Adalberto Mejia battled right-hander Dylan Covey to a 1-1 standoff through five innings. After retiring just five White Sox in his first big-league start last weekend in Chicago, Mejia did a better job of handling a 36-minute rain delay and dodging the raindrops once play began.
A brief loss of command in the third led to back-to-back walks for Tim Anderson and Tyler Saladino, followed by Jose Abreu’s game-tying groundout. Of 422 big-league hitters with at least 100 plate appearances since the start of last season, Anderson has been the sixth-hardest to walk (2.8 percent walk rate).
6
The Twins had taken a 1-0 lead on Jason Castro’s run-scoring groundout in the second after Max Kepler doubled and moved up on a passed ball.
Incredibly, the White Sox fouled off 27 of Mejia’s 82 pitches (32.9 percent), but he also got just enough swing-and-miss strikes (six) to fan four, including Saladino to end his night. Mejia insisted it wasn’t frustrating to have so many of his pitches spoiled by pesky hitters.
“Not really,” he said through a translator. “That’s part of the deal. Their job is to go out there and hit. I just have to do a better job of concentrating and throwing more strikes.”
Despite their 6-4 start, the Twins have received just four quality starts in their first 10 games. They had five during their 0-9 start a year ago.
The Twins stranded runners at third in each of the first two innings and finished the night hitless in six at-bats with runners in position.
“Just not enough offense,” Molitor said. “We put a little pressure on (Covey) but we couldn’t push a lot across early. I’m sure he gained confidence every inning he went back out there. I thought he was a little erratic early but we didn’t capitalize.”
Struggling center fielder Byron Buxton went 0 for 3 with his majors-leading 20th strikeout. He is 3 for 37 (.081), including a bunt single on Thursday at Detroit, and utility man Eduardo Escobar was on deck to hit for him as the game ended.
Cleanup hitter Miguel Sano drew two more walks, taking over the team lead from Castro with 10. Six of those have come in the past three days for Sano, who entered the day leading the league with a combined on-base/slugging percentage of 1.253.
Starting an all-Garcia outfield of Avisail (right), Leury (center) and Willy (left), the White Sox saw that historic trio reach base a combined five times, including a pair of doubles.
Better posture helps Jason Castro fashion rare fast start at the plate Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | April 14, 2017
This hot start is something new for Twins catcher Jason Castro, who has a history of April struggles at the plate.
“Typically I’m a little bit of a slow starter,” Castro said Friday. “I don’t know how many years in a row I was oh-for the first homestand. So that first game, getting some hits out of the way, it was nice to get that going.”
Castro has hardly slowed down since reaching safely three times in his Twins debut. He took an American League-leading .536 on-base percentage into Friday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox, and his .526 slugging percentage through seven games gave him the American League’s seventh-best combined on-base/slugging percentage.
That’s quite a contrast from his career .220 average in the season’s opening month, when his OBP has been just .307 and his slugging percentage has been a pedestrian .358. That .665 OPS pales next to those of his two best months, which historically have been May (.788) and August (.783).
Pitch recognition has been a huge part of Castro’s fast start. His 32.1 percent walk rate led all 202 big-league qualifiers, and his strikeout rate of 7.1 percent was seventh-best. Those numbers are essentially flipped from his career rates of 27.2 percent (strikeouts) and 9.8 percent (walks).
“You can tell he’s got a really good idea of the strike zone right now and is putting good swings on when he gets pitches to hit,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I know he’s worked on some things in terms of being able to use his lower half a little better with a little better posture in the box and not collapsing.”
Having fresh legs is part of the explanation, Castro said, but he’s also pleased with the work he did this offseason in Southern California with independent hitting consultant Craig Wallenbrock. A former scout for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and Cleveland Indians who has worked with a number of big-leaguers, including Detroit Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, Wallenbrock helped Castro rebuild his plate discipline and confidence.
Hitting with proper posture was a big part of their work the past four offseasons.
“That was the main focus of my offseason,” said Castro, just starting a three-year, $24.5 million deal. “Some of the adjustments I was looking to make were some corrective measures. I think just the postural things that put me in a more balanced position helped off lefties even more so 7 than righties.”
As a result, Castro has found himself hitting as high as fifth (twice) in the Twins batting order already this season.
“I probably didn’t really think about him being somewhere close to the middle for us when we signed him,” Molitor said, “but the way it’s shaped up so far he’s getting a chance to get some important at-bats in the five or six hole.”
PARK UPDATE
ByungHo Park, placed on the seven-day disabled list at Triple-A Rochester with a strained hamstring this week, shouldn’t be out very long.
“The encouraging part is they don’t think it’s going to be a long-term (issue),” Molitor said. “I don’t have a grade on it. He seems to be doing OK. We’re just kind of monitoring where he’s at. I think ‘mild’ would be fair.”
Park, batting .375, had a hit in each of his first four games for the Red Wings before suffering the injury while legging out a ninth-inning double Monday in Buffalo.
Meanwhile, infielder Ehire Adrianza (oblique) is tentatively scheduled to play in an extended spring training game on Monday in Fort Myers.
Lefty reliever Ryan O’Rourke (strained flexor mass) has begun a throwing program and hopes to throw his first bullpen in about a week.
BRIEFLY
Veteran right-hander Nick Tepesch worked eight strong innings Friday in his second start for Rochester. He scattered seven hits and a walk while allowing just two earned runs and fanning eight in a 96-pitch outing.
Molitor is pleased with the game reports from Triple-A that right-hander Jose Berrios has “commanded the fastball to both sides of the plate fairly well” and used his offspeed pitches when behind in the count. “Those are things you’re looking to see,” he said. “It’s not so much how many strikeouts and this and that because we all know people tend to expand a little more down there.”
Triple-A relief prospects Jake Reed (side) and J.T. Chargois (neck strain) are making progress. Reed, out since March 31, has resumed a throwing program while Chargois threw one inning at extended spring training on Friday.
Pick a position, and Twins’ Chris Gimenez can play it Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | April 14, 2017
DETROIT — Two full weeks into his Twins career, Chris Gimenez’s unsinkable optimism already is on display.
Hours before making his first start at first base for his new team, Gimenez expertly parried a Detroit TV question about the surprising Twins being on pace for 130 wins.
“I think that might be a record,” Gimenez said with a grin. “While 130 wins might not necessarily be realistic, obviously it’s a tremendous goal to shoot for. We do feel like we have a group of guys in here that are starting to believe in each other, and that can be a dangerous, dangerous thing.”
Working on a streak of two straight division titles with the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians, the 34-year-old utility catcher wasn’t joking one bit when he suggested the Twins might be coalescing into something special.
“I’ve seen that happen before,” he said. “When you get a group that might not necessarily have the flashiest names but has that belief, it’s a big deal. You have a group of guys that start believing we can play and be successful when we do it and play together, that goes a long way.”
Comedic pause.
“Maybe it’s 130 wins,” he said. “That’d be pretty sweet.”
VERY SERVICEABLE 8
A more immediate goal for the Twins will be finding ways to use Gimenez’s highly valuable skill set and uncommon positional flexibility. While the Twins have bounced their catchers into the field for years, including Chris Herrmann at first and Ryan Doumit in the corner outfield in recent seasons, Gimenez is different because he actually carries a high level of competency and confidence into such assignments.
Nearly a quarter of his 211 career starts in the majors have come at positions other than catcher.
In addition to first base, where he has started 22 times, he also has seen time in left field (10 starts), right field (four) and third base (one). He even has mopped up on the mound three times, two of those coming last year with the American League champion Cleveland Indians.
“I welcome it, to be honest with you,” Gimenez said. “I know my main job is to be the backup catcher, but I’m also very comfortable at first and capable of playing other positions. I broke into the big leagues as a super utility player, and I did that a lot in the minor leagues.”
Indeed, over parts of 12 seasons in the minors, the former University of Nevada athlete has made 62 starts at first, 71 at third, 84 in left and 55 in right. Add those exposures to his big-league time, and Gimenez has 3,006 career professional innings at corner infield and outfield positions.
“I might not be Joe Mauer at first base and Gold Glove variety, but I’m going to make all the plays I’m supposed to make, and I might surprise you with a few of them too,” Gimenez said. “I think I’m a very serviceable replacement. I don’t think you’re going to lose much, I guess you could say, at least in my opinion. My thought process is that.”
It was this positional flexibility that gave Gimenez the upper hand in a spring battle for the backup catching job with John Ryan Murphy. Even though Murphy began his professional career as a third baseman and was already on the 40-man roster, Gimenez had added enough quivers to his positional collection to have his minor-league contract selected in advance of Opening Day.
On the first homestand, Gimenez got a late-inning look at third base with Miguel Sano shifting over to first. When Sano’s first career start at first only went so-so in Chicago, the idea of using both catchers at once — starting Gimenez at first and Jason Castro behind the plate — gained traction.
“There’s always a chance both guys could get hurt,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “Worst-case scenario, they run into each other. It’s one of those risks I think from time to time you’re going to have to be willing to take. I don’t know what mathematics would tell you about numbers and risks and odds, but there’s going to be times, at least given the roster now, where we’re going to have to get them both in there.”
And if there’s actually a popup halfway between home and first that brings his two catchers into close proximity, exactly what shade of green might Molitor turn?
“You’ll probably see me get out on the field if I see that,” Molitor said.
PLATOON WEAPON
Additional driving factors in the need for Gimenez to get out from behind the plate, besides the fact ByungHo Park and Kennys Vargas started the year at Triple-A Rochester, are his strong history against left-handed pitching and Castro’s career struggles against same-sided pitching.
In 248 career plate appearances against lefties, the righty-swinging Gimenez has hit .264 with a .361 on-base percentage and .401 slugging mark. That’s significantly better than what he’s been able to produce in 536 big-league at-bats against righties: a .199 batting average with a .578 OPS (combined OBP/slugging).
Why such a stark contrast?
“I don’t know,” Gimenez said. “It’s not that I’m not comfortable facing righties. I feel like lefties have a tendency to play into my swing a little bit better. I’ve had some success. I just hope I can continue to do that.”
Castro’s surprisingly hot start at the plate has masked some of the need to spot him against tougher lefties, but he has hit just .193 with a .547 OPS in 562 career at-bats against same-sided pitching. Against righties, he is a .247 hitter with a .330 OBP and a .755 OPS.
“You don’t try to hit better against one or the other; sometimes it just happens.” Gimenez said. “It’s enabled me to stay where I’ve wanted to be for the last few years. As long as I can keep doing what I’m supposed to do … I don’t have to go 4 for 4 against somebody.”
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Rod Carew’s new heart, kidney came from late NFL player Associated Press | Pioneer Press | April 14, 2017
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew received a new heart and kidney from the late NFL player Konrad Reuland in what is believed to be the first such transplant involving pro athletes.
Carew underwent the procedure last December and met Reuland’s family in March after mutual friends connected Reuland’s death with news of Carew’s transplant on Dec. 16. Reuland had died four days earlier after a ruptured brain aneurysm at age 29.
Reuland attended middle school in Southern California with Carew’s children, and he met Carew when he was 11.
“The whole thing is just unbelievable,” Carew told American Heart Association News. “I’ve been given a second chance so I’m going to take advantage of it, and I’ve got another family.”
Reuland played for the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. He also spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts, who released him in August.
The only details the Carew family received before the transplant were that the donor was “male, late 20s, local, exceptionally healthy.”
The Reulands were told the recipient was a 71-year-old man from Orange County.
The two men’s blood type was the same, but the key factor was both were immune from hepatitis B. No one ahead of Carew on the transplant list was immune.
Reuland’s parents, Ralf and Mary, and their youngest son Austin took turns listening through a stethoscope to Konrad’s heart beating inside Carew’s chest when they met the former baseball star and his wife, Rhonda, according to the American Heart Association News.
“We are so thankful, so grateful, so there aren’t adequate words,” Rhonda Crew told the Reulands.
Last fall, Reuland was on a treadmill when he experienced a severe headache. The aneurysm, a ballooning in an artery in his brain, burst a few days later. He underwent surgery, but never woke from a coma and his brain activity stopped a few weeks later.
During the final hours Mary Reuland spent with her oldest child, she kept her right ear on his chest. Her final words to the representative of the organ procurement network were, “Make sure his heart goes to a really good person because Konrad was a really good person.”
Last April, Konrad Reuland was renewing his driver’s license in his parents’ home. He asked his mother whether he should become an organ donor. She’d signed up to do it, so he did, too.
Carew’s health issues began in September 2015 when he had a near-fatal heart attack while playing golf. He spent a year with a left ventricular assist device in his chest handling the work of his damaged heart.
Last fall, blood thinners he took as part of his protocol led to bleeding in his brain, making it more urgent for him to get a new heart.
Carew went on the transplant waiting list the Friday before Thanksgiving and moved higher a few weeks later. He got the call that a match was found on Dec. 14. He received the heart and kidney two days later.
Heart disease has touched the Reulands, too. Mary lost her father and a 31-year-old brother to heart attacks; Ralf’s father has received a stent and he battles atrial fibrillation.
Both families want to encourage more people to become organ donors. Carew’s family has long been signed up as organ donors in memory of his daughter, Michelle, who died of leukemia when she no match was found for a bone marrow transplant.
The families plan to work together, especially on “Heart of 29,” the campaign Carew started last year with the American Heart Association.
The program’s name came from Carew’s jersey number. Because Konrad Reuland died at 29, the name carries added meaning.
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Mejia K's 4 White Sox in opener loss Rhett Bollinger and Patrick Donnelly | MLB | April 15, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- Dylan Covey threw 5 1/3 strong innings in his Major League debut and Matt Davidson connected on a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh to lift the White Sox to a 2-1 win over the Twins on a rainy Friday night at Target Field.
Covey, selected from the A's in the Rule 5 Draft, didn't factor into the decision, but he limited Minnesota to one run on five hits and three walks with a strikeout.
"I had some jitters in the first inning, but I was able to calm down after that," said Covey, who gave up a hit and walk to the first two batters he faced. "I just threw as many strikes as I could and let the defense work behind me, which they did."
Fellow rookie Adalberto Mejia made his second career start for the Twins and was also solid, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. It was his second straight start against Chicago, but he fared much better than his season debut, when he lasted 1 2/3 innings. "I felt better," Mejia said. "I felt more comfortable. I let the past be the past and was more prepared this start. I think the important thing is I was more confident."
The Twins scored early on an RBI groundout from catcher Jason Castro after Max Kepler doubled and reached third on a passed ball. But the White Sox quickly tied it in the third after loading the bases with one out, getting a run on an RBI fielder's choice grounder from Jose Abreu.
Davidson was the hero with his solo shot off Twins right-hander Ryan Pressly to lead off the seventh on a night that didn't feature much offense. Neither team had a hit with a runner in scoring position. Dan Jennings, Zach Putnam, Nate Jones and David Robertson combined to throw 3 2/3 scoreless innings for the White Sox with Robertson tossing a perfect ninth to get his second save of the year.
"A slider down and away," Davidson said of the pitch he hit out. "I was just trying to keep it in the zone, trying to get a good strike to swing at. He threw one in there and I got it."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Davidson goes deep: Davidson has mostly started against left-handed pitchers this season, but he could see more playing time with his production so far. He crushed a 2-2 slider from Pressly to right-center field for his team-leading third blast of the year. It left the bat at a game- high 105.3 mph and went a projected 404 feet, per Statcast™. It was his second straight game with a homer.
Castro's drive denied: With Miguel Sano at second base with two outs in the sixth, Twins catcher Jason Castro smacked a deep drive into left- center field, but Leury Garcia was able to track it down near the warning track to end the inning. The liner was the only ball hit by the Twins classified as "barreled" by Statcast™, as it left the bat at 89.4 mph with a launch angle of 27 degrees, traveling an estimated 382 feet.
"We had missed opportunities," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We had some good hitters' counts, too."
QUOTABLE
"The experience in and of itself, I hate to say it, unless you've lived it, it's hard to describe. But it's a culmination of all those things you dream about when you're a kid, and then you get there and you get an opportunity, it's a pretty special moment." -- White Sox manager Rick Renteria, on the Major League debuts of Covey and Willy Garcia
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The White Sox started an all-Garcia outfield, marking the first time in Major League history a team's three starting outfielders all had the same last name. All three collected hits, including Willy Garcia, who doubled in his first Major League at-bat in the second, but he was thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple.
REPLAY REVIEW
Brian Dozier laced an extra-base hit into the right-center-field gap with one out in the fifth, and tried to stretch it to a triple, but was called out at third by umpire Todd Tichenor. The Twins challenged the play, but after a review, the call was upheld for the second out of the inning.
"It looked to me like the replay was inconclusive," Molitor said. "The glove got hidden there in the angles as far as when contact was made. I thought it was worth a challenge. It would've been a big overturn if we could get it." 11
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: Left-hander Jose Quintana will look for his first win of the season as he takes on the Twins on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. CT. Quintana is 0- 2 with a 6.17 ERA, but he held the Twins to two runs in 6 1/3 innings in his last start.
Twins: Right-hander Ervin Santana starts for the Twins against the White Sox on Saturday at Target Field. Santana is off to a great start, as he's 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and only four hits allowed in 13 innings.
Twins' Kepler makes Statcast five-star grab Rhett Bollinger | MLB | April 15, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins' outfield defense has been as-advertised early this season, and it was on display yet again on Friday night. Right fielder Max Kepler made his first Statcast™ five-star catch of the season, robbing White Sox catcher Kevan Smith with a diving grab in the seventh inning of a 2-1 loss at Target Field.
The play had a catch probability of only 6 percent, per Statcast™, as Kepler had 2.7 seconds to cover 34 feet on the shallow liner hit by Smith off Twins reliever Ryan Pressly. Catch probability is on a scale of 0 to 100 and is essentially based on how far the fielder had to go to make the catch and how much time he had to get there. Five-star plays are ones with less than a 25-percent chance of being caught.
It was the third straight hard-hit ball allowed by Pressly, who surrendered the go-ahead run on a homer to Matt Davidson before Kepler raced back to the wall to snare a liner from Willy Garcia. The Twins' left fielder then making his diving catch to rob Smith, who had an exit velocity of 100.6 mph.
"Defense was good again," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "The balls were up in the zone, and [Kepler] was able to get over [to make the plays]. Pressly is a tough guy to pull, so [the White Sox] did a nice job of using the whole field."
It was the second five-star catch of the year for the Twins -- center fielder Byron Buxton's diving grab to rob the Royals' Alex Gordon on Opening Day. Kepler made six five-star catches last year, ranking tied for eighth in the Majors despite playing in just 113 games as a rookie.
Kepler was 6-for-32 on five-star catch attempts last year for an 18.8 percent conversion rate, which was the 10th best among outfielders with at least 20 chances. Buxton also had six five-star catches last year, converting 24 percent of his chances, which ranked 6th. The Twins led the Majors with 18 such grabs last year.
The defense is a major reason why the Twins are off to a surprising start at 6-4 this season, and it was another crisp game with Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano and especially Brian Dozier -- with a diving stop and throw to rob Todd Frazier on a hard-hit ball up the middle in the sixth -- making solid defensive plays as well.
"Polanco on a nice play on the ball he one-hopped, Miggy had a nice play he one-hopped and recovered and then Dozier's play," Molitor said. "We also made a nice relay. But just not enough offense today."
Santana faces White Sox on Jackie Day Patrick Donnelly | MLB | April 15, 2017
The Twins and White Sox will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day by sending their aces to the mound on Saturday in a rematch of a classic pitcher's duel earlier in the week.
Minnesota's Ervin Santana (2-0, 0.69 ERA) worked six scoreless innings as the Twins pulled out a 4-1 victory on Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The right-hander will be going for his third win in as many starts this season against the White Sox.
White Sox starter Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.17) was strong into the seventh inning on Sunday but took a hard-luck loss. Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who has homered in each of the Twins' first three series this year, hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning to help Minnesota take two of three in Chicago.
Three things to know about this game
• Santana is 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA in his last five starts against the White Sox at Target Field. 12
• Twins second baseman Brian Dozier is hitting just .224 (11-for-49) against Quintana, but four of his hits have been home runs.
• White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson has homered in each of his last two starts, including a decisive solo shot in Friday night's opener that gave the South Siders a 2-1 win.
Patience at plate leading to success for Sano Rhett Bollinger | MLB | April 14, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is off to a hot start offensively, and he believes being patient at the plate and laying off pitches out of the strike zone has helped him with his early success.
Sano entered Friday hitting .310/.459/.793 with three homers, 11 doubles and eight strikeouts compared to 11 walks in nine games. He's laid off pitches out of the zone, dropping his swing rate on pitches out of the zone from 23.7 percent to 22.8 percent, while increasing his contact rate on pitches in the zone from 62.9 percent to 73.9 percent.
He's also seeing 4.46 pitches per plate appearance, which is 14th in the Majors. And when he makes contact, he's crushing the ball, as he leads the Majors with an average exit velocity of 99.7 mph, up from 93.2 mph last season. That combined with a higher launch angle -- 23.4 degrees compared to 17.1 degrees last year -- has led to fewer ground balls and more extra-base hits for Sano.
"This year, I'm not trying to do too much like last year," Sano said. "I'm letting the pitches come to me and trying to hit them hard. I'm more patient." Twins manager Paul Molitor has been impressed by Sano's approach, and how he's been more consistent with it compared to last year. But he noted Sano tends to go on hot streaks at the plate, and they're hoping this is the start of a better trend than just a hot start that'll fade.
"We've seen him have stretches like this, but even more so two years ago," Molitor said. "He understands the value of seeing a lot of pitches and taking walks and take advantage when there are mistakes. The really good hitters do it for long stretches and multiple years."
Sano has doubled his walk rate from 10.9 percent to 21.6 percent this year, while cutting down on his strikeout rate from a league-worst 36 percent to a more manageable, albeit high, 29.7 percent.
He's also changed his mechanics, lowering his hands just a bit compared to last year to get his bat to the zone quicker. But they're not quite as low as when he experimented with his new hand position early in Spring Training.
It's only been nine games, so Molitor said it's too early to glean too much, but he's certainly happy with what he's been seeing.
"I think the more he can do that and the more affirmation he gets from his results with the team winning, and his role in scoring runs, hopefully he sees that," Molitor said. "And it'll allow him to be as consistent as he can be."
Worth noting
• ByungHo Park's hamstring strain is considered mild and he's not expected to miss significant time at Triple-A Rochester, Molitor said.
• Infielder Ehire Adrianza (oblique) is scheduled to play in an extended Spring Training game on Monday. He'll start a rehab assignment next week if all goes to plan.
• Left-hander Ryan O'Rourke (forearm) started his throwing program and is expected to start throwing bullpen sessions in about a week.
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Keep your eye on him: Berrios off to a great start at Triple-A Rochester Derek Wetmore | ESPN 1500 | April 14, 2017
The Twins entered the season with a starting rotation that could most politely be described as a question mark. They had Ervin Santana, and then a collection of pitchers behind him that drew unfavorable reviews from the national media this winter.
Hector Santiago didn’t pitch well when he first got to the Twins at last year’s trade deadline. Kyle Gibson posted a 5.07 ERA last year and had what had to be one of the most frustrating years of his career. Ditto for Phil Hughes, who pitched terribly with a diminished fastball and then got smoked in the leg with a line drive and later had surgery to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. Adalberto Mejia appeared to be out of gas by the time he pitched for the Twins late summer last year, following a late-July trade with the Giants (Eduardo Nunez).
Collectively, those five guys have actually been pretty good so far this year. Twins starters have combined to post a 3.66 ERA, which is 11th best in baseball as of Friday morning. Only Mejia has had a really short start, when he got just 5 outs in his first start of the year. (More predictive numbers suggest that the group’s ERA is likely to go up, and maybe go up considerably, but for now it’s worth pointing out that their early results have been good.)
And that brings us to a guy who isn’t currently in the rotation.
With the Twins’ starting staff helping Minnesota get out to a fast start, J.O. Berrios has been excellent in Triple-A Rochester. In two starts for the Red Wings, Berrios has yet to allow an earned run. He’s 1-0 with a 13:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the 14 innings he’s pitched for Rochester. In his first outing he threw 77 pitches in 6 innings, then he upped both of those totals to 84 in 8 frames Thursday.
In short, his stat line looks like the same dominant starter we’ve seen in the minors before. The nagging and complicated question last year was: why didn’t we see that same kind of dominance in the big leagues?
For all the excellent numbers he posted before his much-anticipated call-up to the Twins, the 22-year-old struggled last year. Once in the Majors, his final season stat line wasn’t pretty. He posted an 8.02 ERA in 14 starts, and his strikeout rate, his walk rate and his home-run rate all went in the wrong direction. In 58 innings with the Twins last year, Berrios had a 49:35 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowed 12 home runs.
In my opinion, the command of his fastball was his greatest undoing, but it’s hard to explain that all away with just one cause.
Berrios was one of 10 or 11 pitchers in the competition to make the starting rotation in spring training. He was weeded out of that battle, in part because he went to pitch for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and just didn’t have the pitch count built up to carry a 100-pitch load every fifth day beginning in early April.
I believe you’ll see him at some point this year, and it’s possible it could be soon. There are other moving parts, like rotation health and the effectiveness (and roster flexibility) of individual members of the Twins’ rotation. But the least you can say about Berrios through two outings in the minor leagues is that he’s taking care of his end of the equation.
Twins manager Paul Molitor said the notes on Berrios’ report after his start had good things to say. “Said he commanded the fastball both sides of the plate fairly well. He got back into counts with his offspeed pitches, you know, things that you’re looking to see. It’s not so much, ‘How many strikeouts?’ and this and that. Because we all know people tend to expand [the strike zone] a little bit more down there. We’re looking at how he’s commanding his pitches and how he’s using them.”
Twins’ Santana goes against White Sox’s Quintana (Apr 15, 2017) Associated Press | FOX Sports | April 15, 2017
A day after two young pitchers dueled for five strong innings, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins will send their respective aces to the mound.
Minnesota right-hander Ervin Santana (2-0, 0.69 ERA) will start Saturday’s afternoon affair and will be matched up against Chicago left-hander Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.17 ERA) in Minneapolis, Minn.
The two offenses were held in check by rookies Dylan Covey of the White Sox and Adalberto Mejia of the Twins on Friday as the White Sox won their third straight game, 2-1, on a homer by Matt Davidson in the seventh inning off reliever Ryan Pressly.
“It’s been going good,” said Davidson, who is getting regular playing time with Chicago and homered for the second straight day. “Just glad we 14 could be pulling these wins out. Three in a row, so just got to keep it going.”
Davidson was once a top prospect of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he had received just one game in the majors the previous three seasons. He made Chicago’s opening-day lineup and has been a vital piece of the offense while hitting .364 in seven games.
Davidson started at third base on Friday because Todd Frazier has dealt with flu-like symptoms. Frazier returned to the lineup on Friday as the designated hitter after missing two games.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria appreciates Davidson’s production as he works through a constantly changing lineup in the season’s early going.
“You can get pretty excited about him. He hit a homer the other day, he hits the homer today,” Renteria said. “But you’ve got to take a collective view of everybody that you have and the things that they’re doing. Fortunately for us, he had a very good result putting us ahead in that ballgame; did a nice job defensively also. So, we’re going to continue to get everybody in there and move them around.”
One constant on a young Chicago squad should be Quintana. Often named as a possible trade candidate, Quintana has had an ERA no higher than 3.51 the past four seasons.
Quintana gave up six runs in 5 1/3 innings in the White Sox’s opener but recovered with a better outing last week at home against Minnesota. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs. He has limited opponents to a .222 average this season.
He has a career record against the Twins of 6-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 19 starts.
Santana has been sharp. He earned the win last week in a matchup with Quintana, pitching six scoreless innings on two hits and two walks.
Santa is 9-8 with a 3.66 ERA in 23 career appearances, including 22 starts, against the White Sox.
The Twins’ offense couldn’t muster much against Covey and Chicago’s bullpen after scoring 11 runs at Detroit on Thursday to finish a road trip.
“Momentum, you know how long it lasts and what’s going to happen the next day,” Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. “A little bit of a similar lineup, at least at the top, tonight. You’re hoping those things start to flow but it’s kind of unpredictable.”
One key aspect for the Twins’ offense this year has been the walk. Minnesota has taken 48 walks this season. The Twins entered Friday with the most base on balls in the American League and second in the majors before being walked four times by White Sox pitchers on Friday.
Miguel Sano walked twice on Friday and has reached base in every game this season.
Davidson's HR lifts White Sox over Twins 2-1 Associated Press | ESPN | April 15, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- With three Garcias behind him in the outfield and Matt Davidson getting his back at the plate, Dylan Covey's big league debut was a memorable one.
Covey pitched one-run ball into the sixth inning and Davidson homered in the seventh to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Covey allowed five hits, walked three and struck out one in 5 1/3 innings. Davidson's third homer of the year reached the upper deck in right field off Ryan Pressly (0-1), and David Robertson picked up his second save.
Dan Jennings (1-0) pitched one inning of scoreless relief.
The White Sox selected Covey in the Rule 5 draft from Oakland, the culmination of a winding road to the majors. He was a first-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010, but did not sign and then was picked by the Athletics in the fourth round in 2013.
The only run he allowed came on a groundout from Jason Castro in the second inning.
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"I was excited. I was nervous. Just thankful we got the win," Covey said. "I had some jitters in the first inning but I was able to calm down after that. I just threw as many strikes as I could and let the defense work behind me, which they did."
It was a historic defense, you could say.
The White Sox became the first team to start three players with the same last name in the outfield. Avisail Garcia, who had two hits to extend his season-opening hitting streak to nine games, started in right field and Leury Garcia was in center. Willy Garcia, who also made his big league debut, started in left field.
"The experience in and of itself, I hate to say it, unless you've lived it it's hard to describe," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "But it's a culmination of all those things you dream about when you're a kid and then you get there and you get an opportunity, it's a pretty special moment."
The hard-throwing Pressly had not given up a run in three appearances this season, with many in the Twins organization seeing him as a future closer. But Davidson got hold of a slider, sending his third homer of the year sailing into the seats in right field.
"I was just trying to keep it in the zone, trying to get a good strike to swing at," Davidson said. "He threw one in there and I got it."
Adalberto Mejia gave up one run and four hits in five innings for the Twins. Brian Dozier had two hits.
"Just not enough offense today," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Todd Frazier returned to the lineup at DH after missing the previous two games with an illness. Renteria said he wanted to ease Frazier back in as the DH before getting him some time back at 3B later this weekend.
DELAYED START
The start of the game was held up 36 minutes by rain. Steady showers fell again in the second and third innings, but the teams were able to keep playing.
While the crowd waited for the game to begin, the Twins showed Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference quarterfinals series between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues on the big screen.
TOUGH BREAK
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton has been sensational in the field but has struggled mightily at the plate. He is hitting .081 with a league- leading 20 strikeouts. He hit a line drive in the second inning off Covey that appeared headed down the left-field line for extra bases. But the ball drilled third base umpire Todd Tichenor and fell foul, taking the hit away. Buxton struck out swinging after that and went 0 for 3.
UP NEXT
The Twins send RHP Ervin Santana (2-0, 0.69 ERA) to the mound to face White Sox LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.17 ERA) in the second of a three- game series. Santana ranks fifth in the American League in ERA, with just one run allowed in his first two starts. Quintana is holding opponents to a .222 batting average, but has given up eight runs in 11 2/3 innings.
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Rod Carew's transplanted heart, kidney donated from ex-Ravens TE Konrad Reuland Jamison Hensley | ESPN | April 14, 2017
Hall of Fame baseball player Rod Carew underwent heart and kidney transplants in December, receiving the organ donations from a former Baltimore Ravens tight end.
Konrad Reuland died Dec. 12 at age 29 after suffering a brain aneurysm. His heart and kidney went to Carew, who was at the top of the donor list after dealing with life-threatening complications from a heart attack he suffered a year earlier.
Three months later, Carew met Reuland's mother. According to the Ravens' website, Mary Reuland greeted Carew with a big hug and said, "You're part of our family now."
"Forever," Carew said, according to the site. "I will take care of this one because I've been given a second chance, and God knows how I feel and what I'm going to do for him."
Reuland played four games for the Ravens last season, starting in one. He didn't have a catch.
In two seasons with the New York Jets (2012 and 2013), Reuland had 12 catches for 90 yards and no touchdowns. He spent two seasons at Notre Dame (2006 and 2007) before transferring to Stanford, where he finished out his college career before going undrafted in 2011.
The only details the Carew family received before the transplant were that the donor was "male, late 20s, local, exceptionally healthy."
The Reulands were told the recipient was a 71-year-old man from Orange County. The two men's blood type was the same, but the key factor was both were immune from Hepatitis B. No one ahead of Carew on the transplant list was immune.
Reuland's parents and their youngest son took turns listening through a stethoscope to Konrad's heart beating inside Carew's chest when they met the former baseball star and his wife, Rhonda, according to American Heart Association News.
"We are so thankful, so grateful, so there aren't adequate words," Rhonda Carew told the Reulands.
Carew's health issues began in September 2015 when he had a near-fatal heart attack while playing golf. He spent a year with a left ventricular assist device in his chest handling the work of his damaged heart.
Last fall, blood thinners he took as part of his protocol led to bleeding in his brain, making it more urgent for him to get a new heart.
Both families want to encourage more people to become organ donors. Carew's family has long been signed up as organ donors in memory of his daughter, Michelle, who died of leukemia when she was unable to get a match for a bone marrow transplant.
The families plan to work together, especially on "Heart of 29," the campaign Carew started last year with the American Heart Association. The program's name came from Carew's jersey number. Because Konrad Reuland died at 29, the name carries added meaning.
How a deceased former NFL player saved Rod Carew's life Mike Oz | Yahoo! Sports | April 14, 2017
Rod Carew, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, is alive today and that might not be the case if not for a former NFL player. In December, Carew, 71, received a heart and kidney transplant that prolonged his life after a massive heart attack in 2015 that doctors dubbed a “widowmaker.”
Throughout last year, the ex-Minnesota Twins and California Angels star waited for a donor while also starting a campaign with the American Heart Association to raise awareness. When his name made it to the top of the transplant list, as chance would have it, Carew’s donor was an ex-pro athlete — from another sport in another city, but still part of the same fraternity.
As we learned on Friday in two touching stories — one from Garrett Downing at BaltimoreRavens.com and another from Daniel Brown at the San Jose Mercury News — the transplant came from Konrad Reuland, a tight end who played in the NFL from 2011-16, including four starts in 2015 with the Ravens. Reuland died in December at age 29 of a brain aneurysm.
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When his family elected to donate his organs — per Reuland’s wishes — they didn’t know what would happen next, that Reuland’s heart and one of his kidneys would end up with Carew. Now the two are forever linked, the tight end and the Hall of Famer.
Mary Reuland, Konrad’s mother, figured out that her son’s heart might have gone to Carew, and tracked down Carew’s wife, Rhonda, to confirm. When they figured it out, the two families came together for a single cause. From the Mercury News:
The Reulands and the Carews, bound by a single heart, have joined forces to fight cardiovascular disease and to promote organ donation. Both families spoke to the Bay Area News Group this week.
They are going public, both families said, because they believe Konrad has deemed it so. Sometimes Carew sits at Reuland’s gravesite and talks it out.
“I just thank him for saving my life and putting a roaring heart inside my body,” the 18-time All-Star said. “We have a long way to go together.”
There were some stunning coincidences in the story: Reuland was 29 when he died. Carew wore No. 29 for almost all of his career and his effort with the American Heart Association was dubbed “Heart of 29.” The two also met once, years ago, when Reuland was in sixth grade.
Mary Reuland told BaltimoreRavens.com that she’s thrilled her son’s organs helped Carew:
“We lost a wonderful man, so it had to go into a wonderful person. I couldn’t be happier that it went to such a wonderful man.”
When you think about it, this whole thing is quite unlikely — that two men in professions that only a select group of people reach would be connected like this. Consider it a reminder that the universe often works in amazing ways.
Rod Carew received former NFL player Konrad Reuland’s heart Craig Calcterra |NBC Sports | April 14, 2017
Hall of Famer Rod Carew underwent a heart transplant back in December. Today, in an absolute must-read article, Daniel Brown of the Bay Area News Group tells the story of Carew’s new heart. And who it came from: former Notre Dame, Stanford and NFL tight end Konrad Reuland.
What’s more, this was not the first encounter Reuland had with Carew:
“Konrad excelled in every sport he tried and declared at a young age he would be a professional athlete one day. So it was understandably thrilling for the 6th grader when he had a chance encounter with a retired ballplayer at St. John’s Episcopal School in Santa Margarita. One of his schoolmates there was Cheyenne Carew.
“I picked him up from school and the first thing he said when he got in the car was, ‘Mom, I met Rod Carew today!” Mary recalled.
That was the first time Konrad gave his heart to Rod Carew.”
The Carew and Reuland family are now teaming up in efforts to fight cardiovascular disease and to promote organ donation.
Just a stunning story of life and death and life.
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'Second chance': Rod Carew saved by heart from 29-year-old NFL player Steve Almasy |CNN | April 14, 2017
(CNN) -- Rod Carew likely doesn't remember the first time he interacted with Konrad Reuland.
It was the late 1990s and Reuland was a sixth-grader in Southern California.
Reuland told his mother one day, 'Mom, I met Rod Carew today!" the Orange County Register reported.
Almost 20 years later, they are forever together. Reuland was an organ donor; after he died in December, his heart and a kidney went to Carew, who desperately needed a heart.
On Friday, the American Heart Association revealed the story of how the families of the baseball legend and the young NFL player who passed away after a brain aneurysm learned of unusual circumstances surrounding the gift to Carew.
Needing a new heart
Most of the time, people who receive organ transplants don't find out who the donor was.
But Carew's wife, Rhonda, and Reuland's mother, Mary, figured out that the former NFL player, who died at age 29, gave new life to the 71- year-old baseball Hall of Famer.
Carew had a heart attack while at a golf course in September 2015. Doctors implanted a mechanical heart device. Fourteen months later, he was put on the heart transplant list.
The opportunity came the next month, at the time when stories of Reuland's death were in the news. The hulking tight end had in November developed a terrible headache while running on a treadmill, working out in hopes of getting a tryout with another NFL team.
Weeks later he had brain surgery, but never regained consciousness.
Before Reuland, who played three seasons for the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens, died doctors took his heart, kidneys and liver.
Carew was a match. One December 16, he received a new heart and a kidney.
Putting together the clues
Almost immediately, friends of the Carews wondered whether they came from Reuland.
There were some clues; Carew's wife was told the donor was an exceptionally healthy local man in his late 20s, the heart association said on its news website.
She asked a doctor for the man's precise age and was told 29 (also Carew's uniform number).
Reuland's mother was told the recipient was a 71-year-old man from Southern California. At a dinner honoring her son a few days before Christmas, some people told her about Carew.
A little web searching about Carew's transplants persuaded her to get in touch with Carew's wife, the heart association reported.
They began a joint investigation and uncovered details that led them to conclude Carew and Reuland were connected through the organ donation.
Mary Reuland called the organization that guides organ transplants, and asked them to confirm Carew was the recipient.
Families unite
On March 2, the Carews and Reulands got together. The Reulands each took a stethoscope and listened to Konrad's heart in Carew's chest, the heart association said. 19
"Does it sound the same?" Rhonda Carew asked Mary Reuland, according to a YouTube video posted by the Ravens.
Reuland nodded and smiled, "I've got it memorized."
Carew, a seven-time American League batting champion and the AL Most Valuable Player in 1981 when he hit .388, is getting healthier.
"I will take care of it, this heart, because I've been given a second chance," Carew told Mary Reuland.
The families, who had children at the same school back when Carew had the chance encounter with Konrad Reuland, have become fast friends.
"I told them when they came here, and I strongly believe this, that they are now a part of our family," Mary Reuland told the Los Angeles Times. "My son's heart is beating in your chest. You are a part of our family, and you will be invited to family functions whether you want to come or not."
CNN's Phil Gast contributed to this report.
Rod Carew Meets Family Of NFL Player Whose Heart He Received As Transplant Staff |ThePostGame | April 14, 2017
Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew's life was saved a few months ago when he received a heart transplant. The heart came from former Stanford amd NFL tight end Konrad Reuland, who was 29 when he died in December from a brain aneurysm.
San Jose Mercury News writer Dan Brown wrote a fantastic story about how Reuland's family connected with Carew after the transplant. It reveals, among other things, that when Reuland was a kid, he once met Carew.
Last month, Reuland's mother, Mary, got to listen to Konrad's heart beat again. Brown writes ...
When the families met in person for the first time, in a visit coordinated by the AHA on March 2, one of the first things Mary did was lean her head against Carew's chest. Using a stethoscope to eavesdrop on a miracle, she listened hard as Carew took deep and purposeful breaths.
Five seconds went by as Mary tried to find her son. Ten … 15 … 16 …
"There it is," Mary said.
Her face turned crimson and, reflexively, she wrapped her arms around Carew's neck. She was hugging a stranger. She was hugging her son.
Baseball hall-of-famer's heart transplant beats with inspiration Steve Hartman |CBC Evening News | April 14, 2017
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. -- When pro football player Konrad Reuland was hospitalized with a brain aneurysm last November, he took it as a sign. He texted his mom from the hospital, “God has something big in store for me. I can’t wait to see where His will takes me.”
But a few hours later, the aneurysm ruptured.
His parents, Mary and Ralf, raced to his side.
“I had my right ear on his chest and talked to him and laid in bed all day and listened to his heartbeat all day long,” Mary said.
But her son was brain-dead at 29. If this was God’s plan, it sure felt like an awful one.
“And then when we left I said, ‘Whoever gets his heart, better deserve it,’” Mary said.
One year earlier, “I had a massive heart attack. The one paramedic, he had the paddles in his hand -- ‘Come on we’re losing him!’” said Rod 20
Carew. “And then, I was gone.”
Even if you’re barely a baseball fan you know the name.
Long before that massive heart attack landed him on the transplant list, the hall-of-famer played for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels. Along the way he earned a reputation for being great with kids, including one wide-eyed boy named Konrad Reuland.
“He gets in the car, big eyes and everything -- he’s about 11, maybe 12 -- and he’s saying, ‘Mom, mommy, I met Rod Carew today! You know, he’s a pro athlete. I want to be a pro athlete.’ And the rest of the day that’s all he talked about was meeting Rod Carew,” Mary recalled.
They only met that once, but these two professional athletes are now inseparable. Because a few months before he died, Konrad checked the organ donor box on his driver’s license application, and by sheer coincidence, the man who received his heart was none other than Rod Carew.
The two families got together recently at the Reuland’s house in Orange County, California.
“I’m going to ask mom to listen to his heart and tell me how beautiful it sounds,” Rod said.
“That was really cathartic for me to be able to hear it again,” Mary said.
Every heartbeat is unique -- and she said this one was unquestionably Konrad’s. “I’ve got it memorized,” she said.
The two families are now planning to team up to use Rod and Konrad’s celebrity to promote the American Heart Association and to encourage many more people to become organ donors.
“Whatever, if we can save a life -- and that means including Konrad now, you know, wherever I go, he’s going to be there,” Rod said.
When Konrad sent his mom that text, saying he felt like God still had a plan for him, he obviously thought he would go on living. And now we know he will.
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