Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Saturday, June 24, 2017

 Twins' Adalberto Mejia labors through a 5-0 shutout of the Indians. Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 1  Add Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee to Twins' long list of . Star Tribune (Neal III) p. 2  Mejia, Polanco lead Twins to 5-0 win over Cleveland Indians. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 3  Ailing Miguel Sano sits out series opener against Indians due to illness. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4  Familiar faces helped Dillon Gee choose Twins in mid-year free agency. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 5  Twins cool Tribe's bats as big 2nd backs Mejia. MLB (Bastian and Kosileski) p. 7  Redeem team: Twins purge Tribe demons. MLB (Kosileski) p. 9  Hildenberger, Gee added to Twins' roster. MLB (Kosileski) p. 9  New Twins Trevor Hildenberger is peaking at the right time. 1500 ESPN (Depue) p. 10  What’s happened to Jorge Polanco’s bat? ESPN 1500 (Wetmore) p. 11  Navigating Life Post-Surgery: When Your Right Arm and Left Leg Don’t Work. MLB Trade Rumors (May) p. 12

Twins' Adalberto Mejia labors through a 5-0 shutout of the Indians La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND – When lefthander Adalberto Mejia wasn’t nibbling at the corners of the plate on Friday, he was missing by feet. The game was set up for the Indians to end Mejia’s night with one big blow.

But Mejia never let that hit happen.

“It seemed like he made his best pitches when he got to full counts,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “We were kind of joking, ‘Let’s start it at 3-2 and let’s go from there.’

“But he did get big outs, and he did get five zeros.”

Mejia twice escaped innings with the bases loaded, and one big inning by the Twins offense was all they needed in a 5-0 win over the AL Central-leading Indians. The Twins are 0-7 at home against Cleveland this season but, somehow, are 3-1 at Progressive Field. Cleveland has been shut out at home twice — both by the Twins, who lead the majors with six shutouts.

Mejia (2-3) was winless in his previous five outings before Friday’s far-from-a-gem. He needed 104 pitches to get through five innings. He went to full counts seven times over the first three innings — including the first three batters of the third. Molitor had every right to pull him after the third and fourth innings but, apparently, did not want to play reliever roulette against the defending AL champions.

He left Mejia in and watched him wiggle his way out of trouble — as much as a 210-pound lefthander can wiggle.

“It bothered me,” Mejia said of the company on the bases. “It has to bother you. At times I thought, ‘If this hitter gets a hit, this run comes in.’ But I try not to think that way and try to not let a hitter get to first base.”

He stranded two runners on base in the first inning, then walked three during a 30-pitch second. He struck out Erik Gonzalez to end the inning with the bases loaded, then came off the mound yelling and pounding his fist into his glove.

Mejia threw 21 pitches in the third, pushing his count to 68. He committed an error on Jason Kipnis’ comebacker in the fourth, loading the bases with one out. He struck out Gonzalez and got Francisco Lindor to fly out to left to end the inning.

Finally, Mejia retired the side in order in the fifth. And Molitor went to the , getting two shutout innings from Tyler Duffey, one from Taylor Rodgers and one from Trevor Hildenberger, who was making his major league debut.

The Twins, who played without third baseman Miguel Sano as he recovered from a sinus infection, broke through against Indians righthander Trevor Bauer (6-6) in the second. Max Kepler doubled and scored on Eddie Rosario’s infield hit. Jorge Polanco slugged a two-run homer. Brian Dozier hit an RBI double off the center field wall to drive in Jason Castro. The Twins led 4-0.

Dozier chased Bauer with an RBI single to right in the seventh. Dozier entered the game 4-for-32 in his career against Bauer.

It was far from classic game management by Mejia. But he did throw five shutout innings and stranded all nine baserunners he allowed.

And he thought Molitor’s line about starting every hitter 3-2 was funny.

“If it ends like that,” Mejia said, “maybe I can get the ball inside all the time.”

Add Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee to Twins' long list of pitchers La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND – Another day, another couple of pitching moves for the Twins. They could use their 26th and 27th different pitchers of the season by the end of the weekend after calling up righthanders Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee.

It wasn’t likely to come to this for Hildenberger. He said he pitched just 12 innings over his first three seasons at the University of California.

“I threw 85-88 [miles per hour], super straight. No break. No changeup,” he said. “I didn’t pitch a lot.”

At the suggestion of a coach, Hildenberger tried throwing sidearm. That put him on the path that brought him to Progressive Field on Friday as a member of the Twins.

He now throws 88-93-mph fastballs with that sidearm delivery, plus a curveball and slider. He will try to throw hitters off by occasionally reverting to an conventional delivery.

“Try to keep the ball down in the zone and pitch to contact,” he said.

His numbers are impressive: In 124 minor league games, he has a 1.57 ERA and 52 saves. In 171⅔ innings, he’s given up four home runs (two to the same guy, he thinks), walked 26 and struck out 200. He was drafted by the Twins in the 22nd round in 2014 and started his career as a 23- year-old in rookie ball.

Hildenberger had a 2.05 ERA in 21 games at Class AAA Rochester. Will his style work against major league hitters? He, along with the Twins, are about to find out.

“It has been a good mix for him down there,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Gee on board

Gee spent all of two nights with Class AAA Rochester. He arrived Wednesday after signing as a free agent, then spent Thursday charting pitches in the clubhouse as the Red Wings took on Lehigh Valley. On Friday, he was called up to the majors.

“I never actually put the uniform on,” he said.

It was a surprise to Gee, 31, as he was looking to make a few appearances and build a case for a return to the majors. But it doesn’t take much to pitch for the Twins these days, as they are in dire need of innings.

“Right now, I told him, ‘I need you for length,’ ” Molitor said. “That’s cut and dry. We really haven’t had that guy for a while.”

Gee has made 151 appearances in his career, including 125 starts. He began this season with Texas, giving up six earned runs in 13 innings, before being designated for assignment last Saturday. 2

Tuesday starter?

As of about 3:30 p.m. Central time Friday, lefthander Hector Santiago was tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday in Boston.

Santiago threw only 57 pitches Wednesday in a rehabilitation outing for Rochester, but Molitor hoped Santiago would be good for 75 pitches on Tuesday.

If he actually starts.

“I only say tentative,” Molitor said, “because everything seems tentative around here, in terms of pitching.”

Etc.

• The Twins made room on the 40-man roster for Hildenberger and Gee by designating for assignment righthander Alex Wimmers and lefthander Mason Melotakis. Melotakis was a surprise, given that he had just been promoted to Rochester. It’s what happens when you try out so many pitchers in the majors.

The Twins signed righthander Blayne Enlow, their third-round draft pick, for $2 million. The slot number for third-rounders was $755,500, but the Twins went above that to keep him from honoring his commitment to LSU.

Mejia, Polanco lead Twins to 5-0 win over Cleveland Indians Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND — Twins rookie left-hander Adalberto Mejia wouldn’t seem to have the build to work as a tightrope walker, but he was positively Wallenda-like through five jaw-clenching innings on Friday night.

Mejia didn’t work his first clean frame until his final act. By that point he had left the first-place Cleveland Indians in a heaving pile of frustration, having stranded nine runners through the first four innings of a 5-0 loss at rain-soaked Progressive Field.

“He got through it somehow,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “It seemed like he made some of his best pitches when he got to full counts. We were joking about, ‘Just start it 3-2 and let’s go from there.’ “

Jorge Polanco’s two-run homer was the big blow in a four-run second off Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer. Through 466 at-bats in the majors, Polanco has seven homers, three of them off Bauer on the road, including Polanco’s first career homer on May 15, 2016.

“I think I will never forget that,” Polanco said of that momentous occasion.

In sending a full-count, 94-mph fastball out to right, Polanco ended a drought of 80 at-bats without a homer. His last homer had been off — you guessed it — Bauer (6-6) on May 14 at this same venue.

No wonder the typically modest Polanco gave his bat a little flip after connecting.

“He’s a hard-throwing pitcher, so I’m just looking for fastball,” said Polanco, who came in slugging just .254 over his previous 17 games. “Whenever I face him, I just keep the same plan.”

He also seemed pleased to make up so quickly for a first-inning boot of Francisco Lindor’s routine grounder to shortstop.

Brian Dozier added a ringing double to deep center that scored Jason Castro all the way from first. Dozier, who sat out Sunday’s sweep-clinching home loss to Bauer, was 4 for 33 (.121) off the quirky righty before stringing together three straight hits, including a two-out, run-scoring single that chased Bauer in the seventh.

Max Kepler started the second-inning uprising with a one-hop double off the wall in right. After tagging and taking third on Eduardo Escobar’s fly out to the wall in right, Kepler scored on Eddie Rosario’s infield hit.

That gave the Twins, playing without the ailing Miguel Sano, just their second lead at the completion of an inning in their last 47 frames against the Indians, dating to their last trip to Cleveland in mid-May. 3

The four runs in the second matched the Twins’ highest total in their previous 17 games against the reigning champions. The Twins had gone 3-14 in those contests.

The Twins, who pulled within a game and a half of first, have two shutouts in their past four victories against the Indians, including a 1-0 road win behind Ervin Santana on May 12. Trevor Hildenberger, the sixth Twins pitcher to make his big-league debut this season, worked a scoreless ninth that began with a of Roberto Perez.

“This shows that we can beat them,” Mejia said through a translator. “They’re not unbeatable.”

From there, Mejia tested the patience of his manager and Twins fans alike with a 30-pitch, three-walk second. He managed to strike out fellow Dominican Erik Gonzalez to end the threat, then loaded the bases again in the fourth on an infield hit, a flare and his own fielding error.

Once again, Mejia came back to strike out Gonzalez before getting Lindor on a liner to left.

Mejia, facing the Indians for the second time in six days, struck out four and allowed just those two hits, but he also walked five and needed 104 pitches to get through the fifth and qualify for his second career victory.

In 10 career big-league starts, all with the Twins, Mejia has still recorded just nine outs after the fifth inning.

Ailing Miguel Sano sits out series opener against Indians due to illness Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND –Twins slugger Miguel Sano, battling a sinus condition and dealing with a fever for the past several days, was left out of Friday’s lineup for a key divisional rematch with the Cleveland Indians.

Sano, who homered in a pair of Twins victories to start the week, was expected to be available off the bench. Eduardo Escobar took his place at third base.

“He’s been hurting for a few days,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I think the airplane ride set him back a little bit. Between the headaches (and other symptoms), it just makes sense to try to back him off, get him on some medication. Hopefully he feels better (Saturday).”

Left fielder Eddie Rosario also was dealing with a sinus issue, Molitor said, but it wasn’t serious enough to knock Rosario out of the lineup.

Sano, who has built a commanding lead in all-star voting at third base, went 2 for 15 with a pair of singles, five and one walk in a four- game sweep by the Indians at home last weekend. Six runners were on base for Sano’s at-bats, but he was unable to drive any home.

In 142 career at-bats against the Indians, Sano is hitting .197 with 59 strikeouts. That batting average is his lowest mark against any team he has faced for more than 10 games.

MORE MOVEMENT

Former Twins first-round draft pick Alex Wimmers and former second-rounder Mason Melotakis were designated for assignment Friday as the revolving door of the big-league pitching staff continued to whir.

Those moves were made to clear 40-man roster spots for newly promoted right-handers Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee, who were set to be active out of the bullpen for Friday’s weekend rematch with the first-place Cleveland Indians.

Wimmers, a 28-year-old right-hander, posted a 4.38 earned-run average in 22 big-league relief outings since late in the 2016 season. After making it back from Tommy John surgery in the minors, the former Ohio State star and 21st overall pick in 2010 averaged 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

Control, however, was a serious issue for him with the Twins. He issued 19 walks in 24 2/3 innings for a nine-inning walk rate of 6.9.

Melotakis, a lefty reliever who turns 26 next week, sat out most of spring training with an oblique strain but had posted solid numbers this season at the top two minor league levels. He worked to a combined 2.28 ERA with five saves, fanning 10.7 batters per nine innings.

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“We’ve talked about the bottom of our 40-man for awhile if we had to get to a point where we had to start making some tough decisions,” Molitor said. “Today we were really facing that Melotakis question for the first time. They’re not easy, so you don’t take those things lightly. I think there’s a lot of people out there that have heard his name as a potential guy here for awhile, and then you take him off the 40-man, it’s going to raise a few eyebrows.”

A Tommy John surgery survivor as well who ranked as high as No. 13 in Baseball America’s annual ranking of Twins prospects, Melotakis saw his velocity sit in the 89-90 mph range at Triple-A Rochester, where he recorded five outs without allowing a run. In the past, Melotakis had consistently run his fastball into the mid-90s, and he posted a 1.64 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings at the prospect-heavy Arizona Fall League after last season.

BEATING THE ODDS

Hildenberger, 26, is a sidewinding reliever who has intrigued Twins officials since he was plucked as a 22nd-round senior sign from Cal Berkeley in 2014. His career strikeout/walk rate in more than 184 professional innings is a glittering 10.4/1.3.

In 21 outings at Triple-A this season, Hildenberger had six saves and a 2.05 ERA in 30 2/3 innings. For his career he has allowed just four home runs and 22 unintentional walks while notching 52 saves.

Along with a high-80s fastball and a sweeping slider, Hildenberger has a changeup that he’s been using to both righties and lefties. Lefties were hitting .279 with a .689 combined on-base/slugging percentage against him in the compared with .208 and .534 for righties.

BRIEFLY

Left-hander Hector Santiago (shoulder) is penciled in to start June 27 at Boston after throwing 57 pitches without issue Wednesday at Triple-A Rochester. Santiago, who went on the disabled list after getting knocked out in the third inning on June 6 at Seattle, should be on a pitch limit of around 75 pitches, but he will no doubt lobby for more.

Double-A Chattanooga closer John Curtiss, 24, was promoted to Triple-A after posting a 0.72 ERA and 13 saves in 25 innings. Curtiss, a 2014 sixth-round from the University of Texas, has fanned 12.6 batters per nine innings but has walked 4.3 per nine this season.

Class A Fort Myers first baseman Trey Vavra, son of Twins bench coach Joe Vavra, was released after hitting a combined .211 in 536 combined at-bats in the Florida State League the past two seasons. … Lefty Adam Wilk, shelled in a spot start last weekend against the Indians, was released.

Familiar faces helped Dillon Gee choose Twins in mid-year free agency Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | June 23, 2017

The Twins had a secret weapon in the whirlwind recruitment of veteran pitcher Dillon Gee, who signed a minor-league deal with them on Tuesday.

Fellow right-hander Jeremy Hefner, drawing raves for his work as Twins director of major league video scouting, teamed with Gee for two seasons in the rotation in 2012-13. In the latter year, when Gee won 12 games with a 3.62 , that combination started 55 games for a young team on the rise.

“I know Hef very well,” Gee, 31, said Thursday upon his arrival in Rochester, N.Y., only to make a U-turn and head to Cleveland to join the Twins. “I reached out to Hefner during the process, kind of getting a feel for the organization. He had nothing but great things to say and he felt like it was probably a decent opportunity for me. That definitely helped.”

Designated for assignment by the after just four outings, including a single start on June 6 against the Mets on three days’ rest, Gee had a handful of teams express interest in signing him on a make-good deal. That list was quickly whittled to three serious suitors before Gee finally agreed with the Twins.

His deal included a July 15 opt-out date. Now that he’s been added to the 40-man roster, Gee will be paid at a pro-rated portion of $1 million, making him a potential second-half bargain for a Twins team trying to stay in contention.

LaTroy Hawkins, a special assistant in the Twins’ baseball operations department, also teamed with Gee on the Mets in 2013. He called with his 5 congratulations and encouragement after Gee picked the Twins.

Gee also worked out this offseason with Twins reliever Matt Belisle, so the comfort level should be immediate, but the Hefner connection is the part that truly intrigues.

“We’re very similar in a lot of ways,” Gee said. “When we pitched together in New York, we talked a lot about how to approach and attack hitters, what to do with them. For us, already having that baseline is very good. We’re obviously comfortable with each other. We can tell each other anything.”

ALTERED APPROACH

Coming off mid-October, rib-removal surgery with Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis, one of the foremost authorities on thoracic outlet syndrome, Gee has seen his velocity improve by a tick or two. His fastball now averages 91-92 mph, he said, although the results tend to be better at less than peak velocity.

“I feel like I’m a better pitcher at 90-91 (mph),” Gee said. “I locate better. Everything comes out the same.”

He’s also relying more on an improved cutter, which he honed at Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers system. Over the first two months this season, Gee posted a 3.88 ERA in nine starts.

Across 51 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he allowed 53 hits and 13 walks while striking out 43, a nine-inning strikeout rate of 7.6.

“My cutter has gotten a lot better,” Gee said. “It’s one of my better pitches now, and it seems like a higher swing-and-miss pitch for me now. Back when Hef last pitched with me, I relied more on the changeup than the cutter. It’s flip-flopped. I’ve changed a little since then.”

While that sort of mid-career adjustment might require some detailed explanation with a new set of coaches, it shouldn’t take longer than a quick conversation, perhaps over lunch, with Hefner.

“It will be easy to tell him,” Gee said. “I could probably show him two videos and say, ‘This is what I do now.’ “

A 21st-round pick out of Texas-Arlington in 2007, Gee had spent his entire career in the Mets organization until last year. That’s when he became a familiar opponent to Twins hitters, who hit 10 total homers off him in the five outings he made against them with the .

Four of those came off the bat of Brian Dozier en route to his record-setting, 42-homer season. In all, Gee gave up 5 percent of the 200 homers the Twins hit in 2016, including nine at Target Field, where he has a career 5.09 ERA in 23 innings.

That includes 7 2/3 innings with just one unearned run allowed on Aug. 19, 2013, better known as the Last Game of Joe Mauer’s Catching Career. Gee gave up a double to Mauer in the eighth inning that afternoon, a makeup game carried over from April, and that remains the final plate appearance for Mauer as a catcher.

“I don’t mind the field at all,” Gee said of Target Field. “It’s a beautiful stadium. The ball carries a little bit, but what big-league stadium doesn’t these days? I’ve always liked the mound there. In ’13 I pitched really well there with the Mets. Last year I pitched there quite a few times and didn’t do very well.”

Circumstances weren’t always in his favor. On Aug. 13, he gave up 11 hits and five earned runs after picking up the win three nights earlier with a two-inning relief stint in a 14-inning game with the Chicago White Sox.

He came back with a quality start at Target Field on Sept. 6, working on eight days between starts with only a one-inning relief appearance to break it up.

“I’m not trying to make excuses; I didn’t pitch very well there,” Gee said. “Those kind of (swingman) situations were going on a lot last year. That’s the business. I understand it’s tough. But you can watch video from last year and (see) I didn’t look right.”

DEAD ARM

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Gee can’t pinpoint a moment or an outing where he began dealing with TOS symptoms, but over time it was clear to him the quality of his repertoire began to diminish.

“My stuff was a lot different last year,” Gee said. “I guess maybe in hindsight I was (dealing with TOS). I didn’t know. I didn’t know if was from going back and forth to the bullpen. I just had a dead arm, like all the time. I was just struggling with the feel. At the same time you just never know if that’s normal. You throw a ball for a living. You’re never going to feel great.”

Joining the Red Wings, however briefly, gave Gee a chance to compare notes with fellow TOS survivors Phil Hughes and Nick Tepesch. While Hughes, out since May 21, is being brought back in a relief role (for now), Gee is confident he can handle the workload of a starter.

Because his TOS was venous in nature rather than nerve-related, he was back rehabbing in 4-6 weeks and throwing in eight weeks. His first rib was removed along with the scalene (or neck) muscles that attach to the first rib.

He also had scar tissue around some of his arteries removed, but the pectoral release that often accompanies such procedures was not necessary in his case.

Healthy again, Gee is eager to return to the majors, this time for good and hopefully as a full-time starter. That’s something he related through his agent to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, both of whom called during Gee’s brief free agency.

“We had multiple teams wanting to do the same things with me,” Gee said. “We were trying to decide which one would be the best way to get back to the big leagues, and it felt like obviously here was best. There’s been some inconsistency in the rotation.”

Of the nine different starters the Twins had already used this season, journeymen Tepesch, Adam Wilk and Nik Turley had taken the ball a total of five times in starting roles.

“I’m not trying to judge anybody on their performance this year or throw anybody under the bus,” Gee said. “They just had a lot of shuttling, a lot of stuff going on. Other teams had some guys that they had in more solidified roles or it may have been who they had in Triple-A. It all boiled down to this is a good opportunity for me.”

The July 15 opt-out date was not an issue for either side.

“Other teams wanted to make it even sooner,” Gee said. “To me that was almost putting too much pressure on both sides.”

Although open to any role, Gee hopes his swingman days will be behind him soon.

“My routine is everything,” he said. “The more I keep pitching, the better I’ll get. I’m more of a feel guy. When I get one here and there, it’s a crapshoot. Starting is tough enough. It’s even tougher when you don’t have a routine. I still believe I can go out every fifth day and I can be a solid starter.”

Twins cool Tribe's bats as big 2nd backs Mejia Jordan Bastian and William Kosileski| MLB | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND -- The Indians returned home as the leaders, but the Twins still plan on having a say in the race this summer. On Friday night, Minnesota lefty Adalberto Mejia quieted Cleveland's recently scorching lineup, guiding the Twins to a 5-0 win at Progressive Field.

The Twins, who were swept by the Tribe over four games in three days last weekend, took the opener of this three-game set behind Mejia's effort and some timely offense. Brian Dozier contributed a pair of run-scoring hits and Jorge Polanco delivered a two-run homer to back Mejia, who avoided the potential harm of five walks with five shutout innings.

"I thought his stuff was good," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of Mejia. "I think sometimes he tries to get a little fancy, a little cute with his stuff and changes his arm angle when he's making good pitches over the top. Some of the counts, 0-2, 1-2, where he let guys back in, they battled, fouled off some tough pitches, but [it] seemed like he made some of his best pitches when he got to full counts."

With the win, the Twins pulled within 1 1/2 games of the AL Central-leading Indians, who averaged 7.6 runs per game in their previous nine contests (8-1 record).

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"Yeah, the trip is a little daunting as you head out knowing you're gonna face a real good team, Cleveland, as hot as anybody right now," Molitor said. "To get off to a good start, feels good to get a win on the board against these guys."

Right-hander Trevor Bauer took the loss after giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings, in which he struck out four and walked one. Four of the hits Bauer yielded came in a four-run second inning. Dozier doubled home a run in that frame and later added an RBI single off Bauer in the seventh.

"I just tried to get as deep as possible to save the bullpen, if nothing else, keep the team in it," Bauer said. "Our offense has been hitting the ball really well, and four runs isn't a whole lot for us. I just tried to keep it there. We had chances. It was just one of those nights where we couldn't come through."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Polanco powers up: Minnesota's four-run outburst in the second inning was highlighted by Polanco's two-run homer to right. After Eddie Rosario reached on an infield single -- one that bounced beyond a diving Bauer and scored a run -- Polanco drilled a full-count fastball that was over the heart of the plate. The homer rocketed off the shortstop's bat at 102 mph and traveled a projected 404 feet, per Statcast™. "I was really happy that he responded from his error defensively and went on and made some nice plays after that," Molitor said of Polanco. "I think he's working hard. We try to back him off a little bit and get him to slow the game down."

Locked, when loaded: Two singles and an error helped the Indians to a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the fourth. Mejia responded by striking out Erik Gonzalez and inducing a flyout to left off the bat of Francisco Lindor to escape unscathed. It marked the second time within the first four frames that Cleveland left the bases loaded. Against Mejia, the Indians went 0-for-8 with runners on base, 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.

"When we got the runners on, we just weren't able to do anything," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We started either chasing out of the zone or getting ourselves in a hole and weren't able to capitalize."

QUOTABLE

"I don't want to walk him, so I made the decision to get more of the plate. I made sure to elevate it, because I don't think he has a hit on a fastball from a righty in the upper third of the zone this year. And he hit that one. Not a great pitch, but I defend the logic behind throwing it." -- Bauer, on the pitch Polanco hit for his

"I was extremely nervous. I was more nervous in the 'pen than I was on the mound. But as soon as that phone call came and [Twins bullpen coach] Eddie [Guardado] told me it was me, my stomach dropped and your heart jumps in your throat. But once I got up on the mound, I felt normal. Luckily I was able to throw enough strikes to get some guys out." -- Trevor Hildenberger, on making his Major League debut in the ninth inning

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

With a runner on first and no outs in the bottom of the eighth, Indians first baseman Carlos Santana grounded into what was ruled a 6-4-3 double play. But after a bang-bang play at first, Francona opted to challenge the call. Following a 57-second review, the call was overturned and Santana was ruled safe at first. It would go for naught, however, as Twins reliever Taylor Rogers retired the next two Tribe batters.

WHAT'S NEXT

Twins: Kyle Gibson (4-5, 6.56 ERA) will take the mound in Saturday's 3:10 p.m. CT tilt against the Indians at Progressive Field. The right-hander pitched against the Tribe on Sunday, but was handed the loss after allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings of work.

Indians: Ace Corey Kluber (6-2, 3.58 ERA) is slated to take the ball for the Tribe in Saturday afternoon's clash with the Twins. In four starts since coming off the disabled list on June 1, Kluber is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA, 39 strikeouts and four walks in 28 innings. He is 4-0 with a 3.90 ERA at home this season. Redeem team: Twins purge Tribe demons William Kosileski | MLB | June 23, 2017

CLEVELAND -- Following a dispiriting and rain-delayed 9-0 loss to the White Sox on Thursday, the Twins began an 11-game road trip needing a bounce-back win against the American League Central-leading Indians at Progressive Field on Friday. Minnesota looked to starter Adalberto 8

Mejia to deliver a strong outing, and the left-hander came through.

Backed by four-run second inning, Mejia pitched the Twins to a 5-0 victory over the Indians, closing the gap in the division to 1 1/2 games. Although Meija walked five in five frames, he only allowed two hits, struck out four and worked out of bases-loaded jams in second and fourth innings en route to his second win of the season.

"I thought that I could have gone one more inning," Mejia said after the game. "But it was fun. I obviously can take some confidence from it." Meija's outing was a much-needed one for the Twins' starting rotation, which has struggled with consistency as a whole this season. Although they have gone 16-7 in games started by ace Ervin Santana and rookie right-hander Jose Berrios, they have only gone 20-27 with any other starter on the mound.

"I thought [Mejia's] stuff was good," manager Paul Molitor said. "I think sometimes he tries to get a little fancy, a little cute with his stuff and changes his arm angle when he's making good pitches over the top. Some of the counts, 0-2, 1-2, where he let guys back in, they battled, fouled off some tough pitches, but seemed like he made some of his best pitches when he got to full counts."

Molitor said that Meija got himself in some trouble throughout the game, but the skipper was happy with the way that he was able to weather the storm.

"He did get big outs, and he got five zeros," Molitor said. "I think at one point, I looked up and he had 88 pitches and he only recorded 10 outs. Somehow he got those last five outs over his next 12, 15 pitches, and we moved onto the bullpen."

Coming into Friday, the Twins had lost 14 of their last 17 games against the Indians dating back to last season. The win for Minnesota comes just five days after the Indians concluded a four-game sweep of the Twins at Target Field. In that four-game set, the Twins were outscored 28-8 and lost the two-game division lead they had built going into the series.

"It helps us a lot," Meija said of the win. "It obviously shows us that we can beat them and that they are not unbeatable. It helps us for the upcoming game tomorrow and the rest of the series that are coming up against them this season."

In their last five games against the Tribe before Friday, the Twins' offense had not scored more than three runs in a game, resulting in an 0-5 record. But on Friday, the Twins got two RBIs each from Brian Dozier and Jorge Polanco, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning. "A win like this is big," Polanco said. "We came in here to win. Things went right, we got the first one and now we have to keep this going."

Molitor concurred.

"Yeah, the trip is a little daunting as you head out knowing you're going to face a real good team, Cleveland, as hot as anybody right now," Molitor said. "To get off to a good start, feels good to get a win on the board against these guys."

Hildenberger, Gee added to Twins' roster William Kosileski | MLB | June 23, 2017

The Twins announced the callup of pitchers young and veteran Thursday, selecting the contracts of Trevor Hildenberger and Dillon Gee.

The pair will fill roster spots left by the optioning of Nik Turley following the left-hander's two-out start and Ehire Adrianza (abdominal issues) landing on the 10-day disabled list on Thursday night. The 40-man roster spots were created by designating for assignment Triple-A Rochester pitchers Mason Melotakis and Alex Wimmers.

"[We're] trying to keep guys fresh as well as give some new people maybe an opportunity to see how they'll respond at the Major League level," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "In today's case, we're adding a guy from our system in Hildenberger, who has kind of been on our radar even last year before he got a little injury at the end of the year. Then we added a veteran guy that can give us some length in Dillon Gee."

Gee was signed as a Minor League free agent earlier this month after the Rangers designated him for assignment. An 8-year Major League veteran, Gee held a 4.15 ERA in four appearances (one start) with the Rangers this season. He holds a 4.13 ERA over 817 1/3 career innings. Gee said before Friday's game against the Indians that he will take whatever role he can to help the team.

"Really, whatever helps the team," Gee said. "If it really came down to it, I'd prefer to be a starter still, take the ball every fifth day. But coming out of the 'pen is great, too. Like I said, I don't mind either one of them. I like either one of them. Just whatever can help the team."

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Hildenberger, ranked No. 18 among Twins prospects by MLBPipeline.com, holds a 2.05 ERA in 30 2/3 innings over 21 appearances at Rochester this season, striking out 35 and walking eight. He will be looking to make his Major League debut over the coming days.

"From being where his arm slot is, and the fact that every once in a while he gets up on top and gives you a little different of a look on a higher end velocity pitch," Molitor said of Hildenberger, "combined with the slinging action that he throws fastballs, sliders and changeups from, it's been a good mix for him down there."

Sano out of lineup with illness

Miguel Sano was not in the Twins' starting lineup on Friday, as Molitor said the third baseman has been battling a sinus infection. However, Sano will be available to pinch-hit late in the game if he is needed.

"I knew he wasn't feeling particularly well," Molitor said. "I think the airplane ride set him back a little bit last night. Between the headaches and, you know, it just makes sense to try to back him off and get him on some medication. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow. I think I can use him tonight, if I need to late."

Santiago planning to start Tuesday

Left-hander Hector Santiago rejoined the Twins on Friday after missing a couple of weeks with shoulder soreness, and he is slated to return to the rotation on Tuesday against the Red Sox.

"Right now, Hector is tentatively to pitch on Tuesday in Boston," Molitor said. " ... I think that 75 [pitches] would be a comfortable number for him. Somewhere in that range, if results warrant."

After he was placed on the DL with shoulder soreness on June 7, Santiago tossed three scoreless frames in his rehab outing with Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

New Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger is peaking at the right time Jake Depue | 1500 ESPN | June 23, 2017

On Friday, the Twins added relief prospect Trevor Hildenberger to the 40-man roster, and he’ll join the Twins for this weekend’s series in Cleveland. When Hildenberger makes his MLB debut in the next few days, he’ll complete an unexpected rise through Minnesota’s system that’s seen him go from late-round draft pick to top 20 prospect in the organization to big leaguer.

Hildenberger was a 22nd round selection out of Cal-Berkeley in the 2014 Draft. He spent five years at Cal, barely pitching in his first few years, and only putting up strong numbers in his redshirt senior season. That he was drafted at all seemed unlikely throughout most of his college career.

“I thought baseball was out of my life,” he said. “I’ve come to terms with my baseball career ending a couple times.”

Cal nearly cut their program in 2011, but the team raised $10 million to keep it from going under. Although many of the players were going to transfer if the program was cut, Hildenberger said he planned to stay at the top-notch university to finish his degree. Even after the program was saved, Hildenberger was a rarely-used reliever for his first three years, and was mediocre in his 4th year.

“I’d pitched 12 innings in 3 years [at Cal],” he said. “My fourth year I had a 5.00 ERA and my scholarship was up and I thought my career was over. I was just going to summer school finishing up my degree. One of our incoming recruits signed to play pro ball. Coach reached out and asked if I wanted to play one more year.”

In his final year, he finally experienced success. After switching to a sidearm delivery the year before, he finished the 2014 season with a 2.83 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. The Twins gave him a chance to keep pitching, and he’s rewarded the organization giving him a shot.

From the time he entered the Twins’ system, Hildenberger’s steamrolled through the minor leagues, putting up outstanding numbers at every level. In 2015, at two levels of A-ball, he had a 1.55 ERA, 0.719 WHIP and 11.2 K/9. In 2016 his numbers were even better, pitching to a 0.75 ERA, 0.792 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 between High-A and Double-A. This season, in his first taste of Triple-A, he has a 2.05 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10.3 K/9. His career walk rate of 1.4 BB/9 is also very low.

“I take pride in the fact I can throw strikes. Walks is a big indicator for me. Forcing them to put the ball in play,” he said. 10

A key to Hildenberger’s success is a sidearm delivery that creates deception and forces the hitter to pick up the ball from an unfamiliar arm angle. He describes his arm as being at a 90 degree angle, parallel to the ground. Hildenberger likens his delivery to current major leaguers Joe Smith, Steve Cishek, Daren O’Day and Pat Neshek.

He throws a fastball that sits around 90 MPH, slider and a changeup, but has most confidence in the changeup.

“If I’m in a jam and needed a big out my go-to pitch is my changeup,” he said.

Hildenberger’s also matured in his approach to the game, putting more time into studying hitters’ tendencies and watching video. He credits Double-A pitching coach Ivan Arteaga with improving his mental game.

“He’s really helped take me to the next level mentally,” he said of Arteaga. “Looking at hitters, watching their at-bats earlier in the game and finding a weakness that I could play to and then knowing my own strengths and how to utilize those into getting better and better hitters out. I watch what the catchers are trying to do. Watch more video. I try to be as prepared as possible.”

At 26, Hildenberger now finds himself in the big leagues for the first time, entering a bullpen that’s been in flux throughout the season. If Hildenberger can have a similar level of success in the big leagues that he’s had throughout his minor league career, he has a chance to stick with the Twins.

“I didn’t have much success in college until I was 22 or 23. Success is relatively new to me,” he said. “I feel like I’m peaking at the right time.”

What’s happened to Jorge Polanco’s bat? Derek Wetmore | 1500 ESPN | June 23, 2017

As the Twins try to figure out which young players will be big contributors for them around Miguel Sano, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down year.

Eddie Rosario looked overmatched and then one day he hit 3 home runs and that might be enough to keep you interested. Max Kepler has looked great at times, bad against lefties, and his overall numbers have suffered.

Then there’s Polanco.

He entered this season with questions around his defensive game, which is good and bad news. The bad news, of course, is that the Twins were yet to conclude whether or not he could hold down the position defensively, and he’s out of minor-league runway on the off chance he needed to work on things at a lower level during the season.

But then again, if you spend a lot of time posing questions about a player’s defense, it usually means that you like his bat and just need to find a spot for him. That was my opinion of Polanco this winter. With a strong minor league track record offensively, and a solid .282/.332/.424 batting line last year, I thought the Twins were in good shape if he could prove worthy of being the everyday shortstop. When I see a player put up those kind of numbers at a premium defensive position at age 22 in the Majors, it looks to me like a future star player.

Eduardo Escobar took shortstop duties on Tuesday and Ehire Adrianza was the man at the position Wednesday night. Manager Paul Molitor was giving Polanco a quick break in an effort to get him going again. (It makes it easier to do that when Escobar’s hitting .463 with power and some walks this month.)

“I don’t think that there’s anything major going on there,” Molitor said of Polanco. “I think, you don’t put unfair expectations on a first-year starter. I still have a lot of confidence in the fact that he goes up there with a good idea of how to try to give himself a chance to get a hit.

“But he hasn’t been as offensive as we thought he might, both in terms of getting a little stronger and driving the ball from time to time, and walks have been OK, but he’s a guy who knows his [strike] zone. He’s taken some good at-bats. Scoring-position numbers are pretty good,” Molitor said.

Through three weeks of the season, Polanco seemed to be making good on the belief that he was an impressive young hitter. The Twins shortstop was playing good enough defensively to keep the everyday job, he was hitting .273/.342/.394, which is just fine for a shortstop who will turn 24 in a couple of weeks. Perhaps just as importantly, he was earning manager Molitor’s trust as a guy who had a good approach at the plate and showed a level of maturity beyond his years.

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But since the end of April, Polanco’s offensive numbers have taken a dive.

If we’re cherry-picking to make the numbers look as bad as possible, I think we’d start with April 26. Just as Byron Buxton was starting a hot stretch at the plate – in Arlington, Texas – Polanco began to cool. From April 26 until Friday, Polanco was hitting just .237/.276/.319 in 146 plate appearances. It looks on the stats page like he’s gone from stabilizing force in the Twins’ lineup to unusable bat.

(In an effort to avoid being callous, I think it’s worth noting that Polanco missed seven games in that stretch because of the death of his grandfather, and it’s quite possible that something like that could weigh on his mind.)

As analysts around the country are wondering if this is the time the Twins will bow out of the race, the top priority should be fixing the pitching staff. But on the longer term view, I’m curious to know if Polanco will make good on the early promise that looked like a star’s trajectory.

Navigating Life Post-Surgery: When Your Right Arm and Left Leg Don’t Work Trevor May | MLB Trade Rumors | June 23, 2017 t’s the second installment of the Trevor May MLB Trade Rumors experience y’all, let’s get to it! (Those who missed the first one can check it out here.) Before I get into the meat of my “week of woe” post-surgery guide, let me start with some good news:

I was on a mound the other day! Well, kind of. No arm motions yet, but footwork was on point. And, as you can imagine, I looked cool as hell. Those boys in Minnesota can play some baseball! Two games over .500 and right in the division hunt. As someone who is able to witness the combination of talent, work ethic and character on a daily basis, take my word when I tell you that special things are happening. Moving on! Anyone who has had major surgery knows that life is a little bit more difficult when you wake up. Tommy John is no exception. There’s a lot that you may already assume, like “everything hurts,” pain meds that leave you loopy, and leaving in wheelchairs. (I’m sure many of you are imagining this.)

Tommy John surgery, the gift that keeps on giving, checks all of these boxes, but there’s plenty you may not know. For example, the first location for the IV was my hand. This did not work. Ten minutes on the table, my hand is already swollen. When I woke up from surgery on March 20 in my woefully under-sized hospital gown (no, I won’t prove it), the nurse asked me how I feel.

“Yeah my arm is sore, but my knee is KILLLLLLLLING ME!”

Medical context (Warning: I am not a doctor and am only 40% sure that I’ve accurately spelled the words in the following paragraph. Time to test the surprisingly friendly MLBTR editors!):

In order to repair your ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament must be replaced by another healthy piece of connective tissue from somewhere else in your body. Commonly, the tendon used is from one of your wrists. Unfortunately, some of us don’t possess that option. Like me. Option two then becomes a harvest of your gracilis tendon, which wraps from the front of your knee to the hamstring. I’ve been told it regenerates to some extent, like a salamander’s tail. Cool!

Well folks, NOT cool. The knee is far and away the suckiest part of the surgery. I fancy myself a tough hombre, but being rendered unable to move myself was new. No stair is easy, no car is accessible, no bed is comfortable.

So, having had the experience, I’ve designed my own guide to Navigating Life Post-Surgery: When Your Right Arm and Left Leg Don’t Work.

Brushing your teeth. Invest in a Sonicare or some other type of electric toothbrush and practice using it for some time before surgery. Showering. You’re not allowed to get your incisions wet, so invest in a nice, high-quality roll of plastic wrap and trash bags. (Glad works well and smells nice! *Thumbs up*) Also, it helps to have a low expectations for what you’re going to be able to reach. Just do your best. Stairs. Try not to count them. Just take it one step at a time, leading with your immobile leg. The good leg is better for pushing off. This applies to descending stairs as well. Putting on Socks. Well, I cheated. My wife did it for me. Invest in slip-ons that don’t need socks (New Balance makes some solid options). As always, take your time. Combing/Styling your hair. I have two new hats. Lululemon to the rescue. Eating. Chopsticks are out, anything handheld is in. This might have been the best part. Seriously, I had Culver’s like, six times. Note: If you know anyone at these companies, I know a guy that is fairly shameless and loves making commercials. *Wink*

These six things, approached correctly, keep life moving right after surgery. Here I am, 13 weeks out, typing all of this out a full speed (24 words per minute). Heck, I ran for 30 minutes yesterday! Improvement is a daily phenomenon, and the process is in full swing. One finally-not-so- 12 painful step at a time.

Let me finish with a short off-field update. I’ve recently formed two companies that are going to revolutionize E-Sports analytics. I’m also working to build several tournament series for competitive gamers to begin increasing their income, and I have several charity events planned involving both gaming and baseball! On the charity side of things, the next step will be a live-streamed marathon of MLB: The Show, where I challenge five players to take on me and the Twins! More details on that are here for those that are interested.

You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch for updates on all of that and, of course, for great conversation!

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