ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Tyler Duffey took the Globe Life Field mound in bottom of the ninth inning Sunday knowing he had to preserve the Twins' slim one-run lead to end a three-game losing skid.
As if that task wasn't tough enough, the first hitter to come up to the plate was none other than Mitch Garver, his former Twins teammate who had been his catcher for many years.
Duffey said that was "definitely weird."
But despite all the inside info Garver harbored, Duffey still induced him into a groundout before going on to secure the 6-5 victory. At 48-40, the Twins are 4 ½ games up in the AL Central after avoiding a series sweep from the Rangers, who at 39-44 are in the middle of the AL West.
The Twins have struggled several times this season to hold on to a lead. And that almost appeared to be the case Sunday as well.
The Twins offense amassed a handful of runs in the early innings as Rangers starter Dane Dunning had an awful day. He served up a home run to Byron Buxton in the first inning and then gave up four consecutive hits to start the second inning, including RBI singles from Jose Miranda and Ryan Jeffers. Dunning loaded the bases with walks in the third, then forced in a run when he hit Miranda with a pitch. That where his outing ended.
The Rangers battled back, as they had done throughout the three-game series. Twins starter Dylan Bundy loaded the bases in the second inning on two hits and a walk, and Josh Smith smacked a two-out, three-run double that put his team back in the mix. The Rangers tied the score again at 4-4 in the fifth, Bundy's final inning, on Corey Seager's sacrifice fly.
Jeffers' solo home run in the sixth and Rangers reliever Matt Bush's botched pickoff throw in the seventh gave the Twins a two-run cushion. But Jhoan Duran kept it interesting in the bottom of the eighth, surrendering a leadoff home run to Seager on a ball that bounced out of Gilberto Celestino's glove and over the fence. Duran pitched in the eighth inning Saturday with the score tied and ended up surrendering the game-winning runs.
So the situation Duffey entered was a bit precarious. Duffey and others in the bullpen have incurred a lot of criticism for blowing leads late in games. But Duffey has quietly worked his way back into high-pressure situations. He hasn't given up a run since June 12, a streak of 10 appearances.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Duffey has regained a lot of confidence throughout the past month or so.
"It was a big, big outing for him [Sunday]," Baldelli said. "And we needed him to go out there and put up a zero. Not pitch 'pretty good.' We needed a zero. And that's what he did. It was great."
Duffey earned his second save of the season, and only the sixth of his eight-year MLB career. He said he is just happy he can contribute to a first-place team, considering his struggles in some previous performances.
"That's been past me for the last couple of weeks now," Duffey said of those prior challenges. "Honestly, it was just a mental, I guess you could call it a hurdle, or whatever you want to call it. Something was just off. And now it's not.
"I feel good. Throwing a lot of strikes. Throwing everything over the plate."
