Dallas Keuchel had an awesome quote after nearly throwing a perfect game for Twins

Sunday afternoon at Target Field saw the version of Dallas Keuchel that most Mine sits Twins fans thought of when the team signed him back in June.

We’re pretty far removed from Keuchel winning the Cy Young and being an instrumental piece of the Houston Astros World Series team, but he shone through with an ace-level performance that served as a heaping slice of catharsis for all involved. 

Keuchel struck out Endy Rodríguez in the top of the second inning, which was the first he’s recorded since joining the Twins. It was met with halfhearted joking on social media but Keuchel went on send down the next 14 batters in what amounted to six innings of perfection. 

He lost his bid for a perfect game in the seventh, allowing back-to-back hits before getting pulled. There was nothing to feel bad about, though, as Keuchel turned in his first quality start in what feels like ages.

Dallas Keuchel‘s reaction to throwing six perfect innings is priceless

After the game, Kuechel spoke about the magic of his start and what it meant to him. It’s the sort of stuff that truly makes you love baseball and root for guys like Keuchel.

"This is why I came back. This was a good feeling. It's very rewarding,” Kuechel said. "To me, that's the fun part. Going out and competing against other great athletes in the box. To do that and corral the strike zone, was probably the most fun I've had in a very long time."

Keuchel came out of the game in the seventh inning after surrendering back-to-back hits. His bid for a perfect game was over, but he admitted the gas tank was running low.

"I knew I was kind of running on fumes at that point. So it wasn't a relief, but at the same time, when I came out, I knew I gave everything I had."

Keuchel’s fantastic start was a sight for sore eyes on a number of levels. It doesn’t take much reading into his postgame quotes to feel how much the performance he turned in meant, but it’s also a potentially wonderful omen for the Twins future. 

Minnesota already has three extremely solid starters to form a postseason rotation with. If Keuchel can channel even part of the start he had on Sunday against the Pirates, the Twins are going to be sitting prettier than they ever have when it comes to reliable starting pitching in October.

That’s still a ways away and we don’t want to be too far ahead of ourselves, but there was a lot to love about what happened on Sunday afternoon. 

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