Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Friday, June 30, 2017 Mistakes catch up to Kyle Gibson in Twins' loss to Boston. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 1 Nick Gordon chosen for All-Star Futures Game. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 2 Twins' Miguel Sano, set for Home Run Derby, in close All-Star voting race. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 3 Twins-Kansas City series preview: Four games in 45 hours. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 3 Postgame: Hughes' return a success; Price made a familiar mistake. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 4 Defensive breakdowns prove costly for Twins in 6-3 loss to Red Sox. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4 Twins’ Miguel Sano invited to participate in All-Star Game Home Run Derby. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 6 Twins jump out early, but can't preserve lead. MLB (Chronis & Forde) p. 7 Gibson undone by bad luck, big inning. MLB (Bollinger) p. 8 Sano to participate in Home Run Derby. MLB (Bollinger) p. 9 Gordon represents Twins in Futures Game. MLB (Bollinger) p. 10 Twins turn to Santana vs. division-rival Royals. MLB (Flanagan) p. 10 Notes from Fenway: Duffey on Relieving; Molitor on Granite, Gonsalves. ESPN 1500 (Depue) p. 11 Twins slugger Miguel Sano to take part in Home Run Derby. ESPN 1500 (Zulgad) p. 12 Defense falters in series finale as Twins fall to Red Sox. Associated Press p. 12 Twins’ Sano to participate in 2017 Home Run Derby. FOX Sports (FSN) p. 13 Your guide to the best—and weirdest—ballpark food from all 30 MLB stadiums. Sports Illustrated (Taylor) p. 14 Levine: Twins Could Pursue Long-Term Assets At Deadline. MLB Trade Rumors (Todd) p. 14 Outfield shifts have helped Twins’ defense. Providence Journal (Britton) p. 15 Mistakes catch up to Kyle Gibson in Twins' loss to Boston Phil Miller | Star Tribune | June 30, 2017 BOSTON – That ladder, painted the same pale green as everything else here so it's hard to see against the Green Monster, has probably been attached to that wall since Fenway Park opened 105 years ago. Paul Molitor played more than 100 games here and can't recall that ladder ever coming into play. So of course it did Thursday night, right in the middle of a Red Sox comeback, right when it could affect the outcome of the game. The Twins blew an early three-run lead and fell behind for good during one of their unluckiest innings of the season, with that ladder a memorable participant. The final score was 6-3 Boston, and the Twins left Fenway Park shaking their heads. "A ball gets hung up in the ladder, and it happens in as bad an inning as you could draw up," grumbled Kyle Gibson, who was hardly blameless for the Twins' third loss in four games here, but who also encountered plenty of misfortune behind him, too. "It's just really unfortunate. I thought I was throwing the ball really well." That's at least partly true, though Gibson made some bad pitches, too. Like the one he threw inside to Mookie Betts in the fourth inning, just after the Twins staked him to a 3-0 lead, a fastball that Betts clanged off another ancient feature of that big green wall: the light tower atop it. "He's hit that pitch out on me before," Gibson said. "I tried to go in. It was off [the plate], but he's really good at hitting that pitch." The fifth inning, though, is when the Twins messed up and got messed with, in ways Fenway-related and otherwise. Gibson got ahead of Hanley Ramirez 1-2, but then threw three consecutive balls. Ramirez flinched at a slider for ball four, and the Twins thought he might have swung, but they didn't get the call. And if you're familiar with Gibson's work, you know a leadoff walk seems to be a trigger: Things get bad, fast. Jackie Bradley Jr. fouled off a pitch that just carried out of reach, keeping him alive. He cashed in by smacking a ball off that ladder in left — and it ricocheted straight down, landing at the base of the wall. "It really deadened it. Obviously changed the carom. Came straight down and died on the track, allowing Hanley to score" from first, Molitor said. "It's been in play as long as I can remember, [but I] can't think of one that had that type of effect on a baseball." Christian Vazquez then hit a grounder at shortstop Jorge Polanco that glanced off his glove for an error. Then, with the Twins anticipating a Tzu- Wei Lin bunt and using the "wheel" defense, which sends the shortstop to cover third and the second baseman to cover first, Gibson fielded a comebacker, a seemingly sure double play. But when he turned to second base — nobody there. He settled for one out, but it was at first, not third, with both runners moving into scoring position. "I never even thought about being in the wheel there and not having anybody at second," Gibson said. "It's not a play you practice — you always go to second to start the double play. It wasn't in my mind that I needed to go to third." The tying run then scored on a chopper to third, and Betts put the Red Sox in front for good with a perfectly placed grounder up the middle, just out of Polanco and Brian Dozier's reach. A walk, one well-hit ball, and four straight grounders — that was the Boston rally. Gibson gave up another long home run an inning later to Ramirez, but the Twins, who had grabbed a 3-0 lead against David Price, couldn't generate anything after that. "It was one of Gibby's better nights," Molitor said. "He was attacking, used his fastball well, got some jam shots on righthanders. Just some bad luck changed it." Nick Gordon chosen for All-Star Futures Game Phil Miller | Star Tribune | June 30, 2017 BOSTON – Miguel Sano will find out Sunday whether he will be elected to start the actual All-Star Game on July 11, and whether any other Twins will be headed to Miami with him. But the Twins learned that one member of their organization will definitely be there. Nick Gordon, rated the top prospect in the Twins farm system before the season, has been selected to the Futures Game, which takes place on July 9 in Marlins Park. The 21-year-old shortstop, chosen fifth overall in the 2014 draft, is enjoying a stellar season for Class AA Chattanooga, racking up 21 doubles, a league-leading six triples and six home runs as well. With a .310 batting average, he ranks among the top five hitters in the Southern League, and his 33 extra-base hits have led all AA leagues much of the season. The Futures Game annually pits the top American prospects against a team comprised of the best prospects born outside the United States. Dee Gordon, Nick’s older brother, represented the Dodgers organization at the 2010 game, a season in which he was also the shortstop for Chattanooga. The brothers are the sons of longtime major league pitcher Tom Gordon. Etc. • Righthander Felix Jorge didn’t make his scheduled start for Chattanooga on Thursday because, Molitor said, “he’s up for consideration” to start one of the Twins’ two games Saturday at Kansas City. The 23-year-old Dominican is on the Twins’ 40-man roster. • Twins lefthander Buddy Boshers was a teammate of Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel at Lee High School in Huntsville, Ala.; their families even held a barbecue on draft day in 2008 with each other, waiting to see if they would be chosen. Their high school coach, Butch Weaver, was in Fenway Park on Thursday to watch them pitch. • With the Twins expected to arrive at their hotels sometime after 2 a.m. Friday following a cross-country flight, Friday starter Ervin Santana was sent to Kansas City a day early. 2 Twins' Miguel Sano, set for Home Run Derby, in close All-Star voting race Phil Miller | Star Tribune | June 29, 2017 BOSTON - Twins General Manager Thad Levine walked past Miguel Sano as he was talking about next month’s Home Run Derby in Miami and quickly handicapped the competition. “He’s a winner,” Levine said of the 24-year-old slugger. “That’s why he’ll win. He’s a winner.” That’s certainly Sano’s intention, but his manager believes that, for all of Sano’s power, his real secret is that he doesn’t try to hit homers. He tries to hit the ball hard, Paul Molitor said, and there’s a difference. “To be honest, Miggy doesn’t try to hit the ball over the fence in batting practice very often. Maybe in the last round he gets a little competitive with Kennys [Vargas] every now and then,” Molitor said. “But he tries to stay inside the ball, really tries to work on making sure his swing is prepared for the game rather than seeing how far he can hit it. So this will be a little different for him.” It’s an opportunity he’s been waiting for, said Sano, who needs two more home runs to become the first Twins player since Justin Morneau in 2009 to reach 20 by the All-Star break. Now he would also like to join Morneau (in 2008) as the only Twins to win the Derby. “It’s really exciting. I’ve always wanted to do this,” Sano said.