It was a long way back in more ways than one for just-recalled Twins reliever Brock Stewart, who made his first major-league appearance since 2019 in Thursday's 7-1 victory over Kansas City.
It took all those years rehabbing and returning from Tommy John surgery and arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs 10 months apart — and an introspective plane ride from Rochester, N.Y. after he was summoned from Class AAA St. Paul on Tuesday.
It also took his parents a six-hour drive from Normal, Ill., to witness two innings pitched and a major-league win in relief of starter Tyler Mahle, who left after four innings because of elbow soreness.
Stewart earned the decision after allowing one hit, no runs and striking out three after Mahle left early. It was his first win for the Twins, the seventh of his injured-sidetracked career and his first since he beat Baltimore with Toronto on Sept. 18, 2019.
He entered the game right after the Twins' four-run fourth inning — powered by consecutive Byron Buxton (three runs) and Carlos Correa (solo) home runs — gave them that final 7-1 margin.
He quietly ticked off the years — 2019, 2020, 2021 — on his fingers in the Twins' upbeat clubhouse after beating a Royals team that is now 6-20 to start the season.
"Shoot, it has been over three years since my last appearance in the big leagues," said Stewart, whom the Twins signed as a minor-league free agent last July. "The first one, to get a 'W,' special. There were days where I didn't know if I wanted to keep going through the grind of the whole rehab process. But I'm sure glad I did.
"I always hoped and prayed I'd get back to this moment. To be here, it's very special."
Stewart, 31, got his chance when Mahle felt what the team termed "right posterior elbow soreness" and was removed from the game as a precaution.
"It didn't feel great, so that's when we decided we'll take me out and be smart about it," Mahle said after he struck out six and allowed two hits and a run in four innings. "It was feeling pretty good up to that point and then it just got a little worse. It's just inflammation. No one's really concerned about it. So we just sit back for a few days, let it calm down and it should be fine."
Mahle said he wouldn't need to get imaging on his arm. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli sounded uncertain about that.
"I'm not ready to set off any alarms right now," Baldelli said. "We know in baseball we're going to be dealing with guys that are feeling things and they're not always going to be feel perfect. You're going to have to figure out the right way to work through the situation."
Mahle's exit came one day after starter Kenta Maeda left Wednesday's game after he allowed 10 runs in three innings after he reported arm soreness on his way back from Tommy John surgery.
Stewart was asked if the early call surprised him.
"Yeah, a little bit," he said. "I just didn't know what was going on with Mahle. But that's part of the bullpen. You never know when you're going to get your name called. Honestly, it was maybe a good thing to get me a little ambush: 'Stew, get hot.' Once I threw my first throw out there, it was just like riding a bike."
He pitched with his parents, wife and 13-month-old son Jett in attendance after that flight back home to St. Paul and to the major leagues that gave him time for reflection.
"I did that at the airport flying here, just flying back to the big leagues. I wasn't talking to anybody. I just had to sit there with my thoughts. It was pretty special. I got emotional at different times on the plane, so hopefully no one was watching me."
