Whatever was wrong with their Opening Day starter for most of the year, Ricky Nolasco seems to have fixed it. But now something is wrong with the Twins' All-Star closer.
Their former All-Star closer, too.
Glen Perkins and Joe Nathan took turns blowing saves Tuesday, with the Twins getting the last chance to celebrate. Aaron Hicks, down to a 3-and-2 count and two outs, beat out an infield grounder, scoring Chris Herrmann with the winning run in a dramatic 4-3 Twins victory at Target Field.
"It's so emotional, everything's so emotional. They're fighting to win a pennant, we're fighting to win a ballgame, and our guys just kept coming back," a flushed Ron Gardenhire said after the game. "It's just an emotional time right now, a very emotional game. I'm proud of these guys. They're fighting."
But amid the pride over the victory, just the Twins' sixth in the past 23 games, came concern. Shortstop Eduardo Escobar jammed his shoulder while diving for a ground ball, and his right arm was in a sling after the game. And Perkins gave up a home run, the fifth in his past eight outings, prompting apprehension over his health, too. The closer's fastball velocity ranged from 92-94 mph, a few ticks slower than normal.
"Yes, I am concerned. We're going to talk with him tomorrow and see how he's doing," Gardenhire said after Perkins' September ERA rose to 13.50. "He's coming off [some neck stiffness] and he's had a couple of outings where his velocity is down. We just want him to be honest with us and not hurt himself."
Nobody looks healthier than Nolasco, for a change. The righthander, whose first season with the Twins has been the worst of his major-league career, allowed the Tigers only five singles over eight innings. He never allowed a runner to reach third base, striking out five and walking just one. He shut out the American League's second-highest-scoring team, and he did it in the middle of a pennant race; the Tigers opened the day 1½ games ahead of Kansas City for the AL Central lead.
"That's what we were hoping for. He just pitched his tail off," Gardenhire said. "That's just great stuff. He deserved a win."
He did, and he probably wanted one, considering his last victory came July 1. But for the second time in three weeks, Perkins served up a home run that deleted Nolasco's victory. Perkins gave up a one-out bloop double to Torii Hunter, and a ground single to Miguel Cabrera. Victor Martinez popped up for the second out, but J.D. Martinez took a high fastball from Perkins to the opposite field. His blast just cleared the limestone wall in right field, and Perkins, who has blown three of his past five save opportunities, crouched on the mound in disbelief as Martinez circled the bases and the Tigers celebrated.
The Twins, handcuffed most of the night by Detroit starter Rick Porcello, struck back quickly, however, against Nathan, whose 260 saves are the most in Twins history. Trevor Plouffe drew a one-out walk, and pinch runner Doug Bernier scored from first base when Kurt Suzuki dropped a double in front of diving center fielder Ezequiel Carrera, tying the score. With two outs, Hicks battled Nathan to a 3-2 count, then drove a grounder up the middle that shortstop Andrew Romine grabbed, but too late to get Hicks at first.
"I was a little worried about the ball getting past Nathan," Hicks said of his second walk-off hit of the season, "but from there, it's a race between me and the guy throwing the ball to first base."
