Michael Pineda goes deep into the game
The one downside to the Twins in recent weeks has been the downturn of their starting pitching. While Minnesota was singing the praises of new pitching coach Wes Johnson’s reclamation projects earlier in the year, the performance of the starting rotation has gone downhill and with starts lasting until the fifth and sixth inning as opposed to the seventh or eighth, the bullpen has been exposed in the later moths.
On Tuesday, the Twins didn’t have that problem as Michael Pineda turned in a big performance that not only shut down the White Sox, but also saved the Twins bullpen.
The right-hander was solid on the night, allowing four runs on six hits with four strikeouts, but his most impressive facet was his ability to go deep into the game. With Pineda putting together seven full innings of work, it was the first time that a Twins starter has gone into the seventh inning since Jose Berrios did it against the Miami Marlins on July 31.
While this start was nice, it was another good outing in a stretch that has made Pineda the best starting pitcher on the Twins roster at the moment. If he can keep this going, he has a chance to be a big part of the Twins rotation down the stretch.