Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Saturday, June 30, 2018
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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Saturday, June 30, 2018 Mauer's 5 RBIs not enough at windy Wrigley. MLB.com (Bollinger) p.1 Motter placed on 7-day DL, Astudillo called up. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 2 Twins left twisting in the wind in blustery confines of Wrigley Field. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3 Twins fans still flock to Wrigley Field to follow them even in bad season. Star Tribune (Reusse) p. 4 Twins call up versatile, free-swinging Astudillo from Rochester. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 5 Mauer is sick in Chicago, again. But he hit a home run, again. And he's having a baby, again. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 6 Twins' Trevor Hildenberger turns sidearm pitching into an art. Star Tribune (Miller) p. 7 Twins waste 5 RBIs from Joe Mauer in 10-6 loss to Chicago Cubs. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 8 Twins could give Trevor Larnach a break after College World Series run. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 9 ‘I lost stamina out there’: José Berríos, Twins wilt under the heat at Wrigley. The Athletic (Hayes) p. 10 Derek Falvey on the progress of Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco. ESPN 1500 (Depue) p. 12 Wrigley woes: Russell’s grand slam drops Twins. Associated Press p. 13 Mauer's 5 RBIs not enough at windy Wrigley Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | June 29, 2018 The Twins wasted a five-RBI performance from Joe Mauer, as right-hander Jose Berrios uncharacteristically struggled, giving up a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning in a 10-6 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon in the club's first game at Wrigley Field since 2009. The Twins were hopeful to build on their extra-innings win over the White Sox on Thursday, and early on, it appeared it was heading that way. Mauer smacked a three-run homer off lefty Mike Montgomery in the second to give Minnesota an early lead and he tacked on a two-run double in the fourth to extend the lead to 5-2. But it wasn't enough with Twins pitchers serving up four homers. "I didn't feel too well coming to the park, but I was able to get out there and swing the bat," Mauer said. "Just wasn't enough today. Hopefully we can bounce back and get one tomorrow." Berrios had trouble with his command, walking four batters for the first time all season and had trouble with the long ball. He served up a two-run homer to Jason Heyward in the second, but the big blow came in the fifth. The Twins nearly pinch-hit for Berrios in the top of the inning, but No. 8 hitter Ehire Adrianza popped out with the bases loaded to end the scoring chance. Berrios came back out for the fifth, but he loaded the bases with one out after giving up a single, a hit by pitch and another single. Addison Russell provided the go-ahead blast with a grand slam to left that had a hit percentage of only 4 percent, per Statcast™. "I hung the curveball right in the middle," Berrios said through an interpreter. "He hit it up, and I think it was the wind pushed it out. It wasn't like he hit it really hard." It ended Berrios' day, after he gave up six runs on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings. It ended a strong stretch from Berrios, who had posted a 2.05 ERA over his previous eight starts. The Cubs kept adding insurance runs via homers, as Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer off Matt Magill in the sixth and Kyle Schwarber hit a solo shot off Magill in the seventh. Matt Belisle also gave up an RBI single to Anthony Rizzo in the eighth. The Twins didn't score again until a two- out RBI single from Robbie Grossman in the ninth. "Even at 6-5 you're thinking we're going to score some more and get back in the game," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "But we couldn't hold them down on the back end." BUSENITZ DOWN, MEJIA UP Right-hander Alan Busenitz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after the game to make room for Saturday's starter, left-hander Adalberto Mejia. Busenitz has a 6.43 ERA in six appearances for the Twins this season. SOUND SMART Mauer is 9-for-18 with two homers and nine RBIs in four career games at Wrigley Field. He's the lone Twins player who was on the roster the last time the Twins played at the Friendly Confines nine years ago. "I enjoy it," Mauer said. "It's one of those places that has a lot of history. I love places like that, like Fenway. It's a great atmosphere and the crowd was great. It's only the second time I've been here in 15 years. I don't get to come here a whole lot. A lot of Minnesotans drive down. I have a lot of family members here, a lot of Chicago ties. It's fun to be in this atmosphere, and for our fans to come, that's awesome, too." HE SAID IT "Russell's home run, it maybe gets to the track at Target Field. It's pretty crazy to see. You see the reason why these guys put up some of the numbers they do." – Grossman Motter placed on 7-day DL, Astudillo called up Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | June 29, 2018 The Twins placed utility man Taylor Motter on the 7-day concussion disabled list and selected the contract of catcher Willians Astudillo to take his place on the roster. Right-hander Felix Jorge was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Motter was injured crashing into the right-field wall while attempting to make a running catch in Thursday's game against the White Sox. He underwent the concussion protocol after the game and was ultimately placed on the DL on Friday. "There were some things that came back concerning," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "But I don't think I'm misspeaking by calling it a mild concussion. He's actually doing pretty well today." Astudillo was called up for the first time after nine seasons in the Minors. He can play multiple positions and has been incredibly hard to strike out throughout his career. Astudillo has struck out just nine times in 188 plate appearances this year and only 76 times in 2,343 career plate appearances. He hit .290/.321/.489 with seven homers, 12 doubles and a triple in 49 games with Triple-A Rochester, getting named an International League All-Star. "He's a guy who brings a bit of energy and is a spark plug," chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said. "We saw a little bit of it in Spring Training. So hopefully it gives us a little bit of a boost." Astudillo, 26, said he can play any position and brought five gloves with him to Wrigley Field. In addition to catching, he's played left field, third base and first base this season with Rochester. "I'm super happy and excited to be here," Astudillo said through an interpreter. "Anything to help the team. I'm just excited to be here and get to work." Jorge, 24, hasn't pitched this season, as he's been dealing with a triceps issue. He has a career 3.27 ERA in eight seasons in the Minors and made two starts with the Twins, allowing nine runs in 7 2/3 innings. "It's always difficult when you are making a decision around a guy who's on your roster and who you want to keep," Falvey said. "We felt this was a move we had to make to get a guy. You're in a National League park. Willians is somebody who has played really well for us in Rochester, and we feel like he can actually help us at several positions going through a set of six National League games." Worth noting • Shortstop Jorge Polanco went 4-for-7 in Thursday's doubleheader with Triple-A Rochester and is on track to join the Twins on Monday once his 80-game suspension is up. Polanco had been dealing with a cut on his right index finger, but the issue is behind him. "He's in great shape physically," Falvey said. "Hopefully he's in a place where he can help us soon. He's fully healthy." • The Twins continue to monitor Miguel Sano at Class A Advanced Fort Myers, and Falvey said Sano's conditioning has been improving. He's lost weight as part of the program, but Falvey said it's more than just weight he's working on in Florida. "He's done a good job," Falvey said. "But I've said it 1,000 times, it's not so much about the weight. We want him to be strong. He's a big man. 2 We want the lower half to be strong to put him in a good position to hit the way we know he can." • Left-hander Adalberto Mejia joined the Twins on Friday in advance of his scheduled start on Saturday. Minneosta will have to make a roster move for Mejia, who posted a 1.41 ERA in five June starts with Rochester. "He's throwing strikes, command of his fastball has been good, secondary stuff has been crisp," Falvey said. "We still think he's a guy, as we said last year, that can help us up here." Twins left twisting in the wind in blustery confines of Wrigley Field La Velle Neal | Star Tribune | June 30, 2018 There’s a belief that when the summer winds pick up, the Cubs offense takes off.