Minnesota Twins 3 Up, 3 Down: Twins have another exhausting week

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 25: Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates scoring a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of the game on June 25, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 25: Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates scoring a run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of the game on June 25, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 30: Lewis Thorpe #43 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 30, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 30: Lewis Thorpe #43 of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 30, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

UP: Lewis Thorpe

We could talk about Buxton and Gonzalez being activated here, but instead, we’ll talk about the path that Lewis Thorpe has had on his way to the major leagues. While it wasn’t the same emotional path that fellow prospect Devin Smeltzer had taken to the major leagues, Thorpe’s path also encountered adversity thanks to elbow problems that led him to miss the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Thorpe’s road to recovery hasn’t been a smooth one and his numbers at Triple-A Rochester (3-4, 5.71 ERA) were not screaming for a call-up. With the Twins needing arms out of the bullpen and Kyle Gibson making a 17th inning cameo during the marathon, Minnesota decided to give Thorpe his first major league start on Sunday and he did well, limiting the White Sox to two runs over five innings while striking out seven.

Perhaps the coolest part out of all of this was the 24-hour trip his parents took from Australia to surprise their son moments after he received the news of his major league debut. While Thorpe didn’t get the win, it’s moments like these that make following baseball fun.