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New-look Pablo López returns to Houston and returns to form as Twins Top Astros

Theo

HOUSTON — After Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López shaved much of his beard, Ryan Jeffers said López looked like one of the twin assassins from “Breaking Bad.” Rocco Baldelli described his ace pitcher as looking meaner during Friday’s pregame routine.

Either way, it worked.

Admitting he needed to make a change after three consecutive difficult starts, López shaved more than half his beard before Friday night’s start. Working with an exceptional pitch mix, including an explosive fastball, López then shaved nearly half a point off his ERA, dropping it from 5.25 to 4.84.

Returning to the scene of his dominant postseason outing in October, López was just as sharp in shutting out the Houston Astros. López struck out six and allowed just one run in seven innings as the Twins won for the eighth time in 10 games, eliminating Houston 6-1 in front of 36,903 at Minute Maid Park. Trevor Larnach and Carlos Santana both homered and Carlos Correa doubled in a run as the Twins improved to 32-25.

“(I’m) not superstitious, just a little bit stitious,” López said. “Sometimes we think it must be something mechanical, something pitching. What if it was something different? I had to take my chance. … The only thing I did was try not to overdo it. I was very resilient and had to tell myself to just be strong, to not give in to the temptation to throw away my routine because you’re looking for a change.

His previous three starts left López perplexed.

Even though his stuff was solid, his offspeed throws, including the sweeper, were punished because he left too many offerings in the zone. In those starts against the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers, López allowed 16 earned runs, 25 hits and five home runs in 16 innings pitched, suffering a loss in all three.

López’s underlying metrics suggested his problems were overblown, with his 3.80 FIP being well below his ERA. Yet López struggled through his first 11 rounds to find the consistency that made him the team’s best starter in more than a decade.

Not Friday.

Working with a snappy fastball, a good changeup and curve and an improving sweeper, López overpowered Houston hitters all night.

“He looked great,” Jeffers said. “I told him (in the bullpen) that was the best I’ve seen you since last year. He looked really good. It was great. I haven’t caught up with him in a while, but the last few outings haven’t been great. He didn’t feel. So there were several things he was working on this week. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but it was rubber type stuff, mechanical stuff. I just tried to motivate him all day, keep telling him how good he is. He’s definitely an ace. He knows it.

López showed how good he could be in the fourth inning as his team held a slim lead. While he had faltered in previous outings with the traffic on the bases, this time he excelled. Alex Bregman led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to the foul pole to cut the Twins’ advantage to 2-1. Jon Singleton followed with a one-out single and López walked Mauricio Dubón, prompting a visit to the mound from pitching coach Pete Maki.

But López quickly bounced back with a strikeout by Chas McCormick and a late-inning groundout by Yainer Diaz. From there, López struck out nine of the last 10 batters he faced. Needing just 93 pitches to complete seven innings, López generated 17 swings and misses and limited Houston to six hits and one walk.

“A lot of people said he looked a lot meaner,” Baldelli said. “I don’t know if he threw meaner, but he threw really well. He had a pretty good changeup, he attacked very well with his fastball and I think he threw enough good offspeed pitches to get what he was looking for. Above all, the fastballs in the zone were so good, and that’s where efficiency really comes in. That’s what really good execution looks like.

The team’s offense demonstrated what a good approach looks like.

After an aggressive start against Ronel Blanco, the Twins hitters showed patience from the third inning. Willi Castro opened the inning with a six-pitch strikeout, resulting in a triple before Jose Miranda issued an 11-pitch walk. Correa then doubled on a run to give the Twins a one-run lead and Alex Kirilloff’s sac fly made it 2-0.

The long at-bats led to a 32-pitch frame for Blanco, who threw 28 pitches in his first two innings. From there, the Twins seemed to wear Blanco down. Castro drew a nine-pitch walk to open the fifth inning. One out later, Larnach went for the full count before ripping a slider to right on the ninth pitch he saw to put the Twins ahead by three runs.

After being hit by a pitch to start the sixth inning, Max Kepler raced to third on Jeffers’ double bloop to right and scored with a good read on the contact play on Manny Margot’s RBI groundout. Santana scored to start the eighth inning, allowing the Twins to retire López after seven frames and head to the bullpen.

“It’s a good team approach in the lineup,” Baldelli said. “We did a good job. … Really, everyone in our lineup went out there with a good plan. (Blanco) didn’t really have a lot of quick streaks. He had to work throughout the match and we got him out of there.

Baldelli: Alcalá gains bigger role

Jorge Alcalá entered the high-leverage group chat.

While Baldelli acknowledged his intention to use Alcalá for multiple innings if necessary, Baldelli suggested Friday that the reliever could dedicate more time in critical game situations. Baldelli has been impressed with the recent performance of Alcalá, whose fastball has averaged 98 mph or better since he joined the club. Alcalá’s fastball averaged 99.1 mph during a dominant inning against the heart of Kansas City’s order on Thursday.

During the home game, Alcalá – acquired from the Astros in the July 2018 trade for Ryan Pressly – struck out seven and walked one scoreless inning in four.

“It’s working its way into the leverage mix,” Baldelli said. “What he was throwing (Thursday) – and I think the outing before as well – was not what we had seen from him before. It’s not like the hitters are telling us anything different. The hitters agree that it’s good.

In April, Alcalá made two appearances in which his fastball averaged below 95 mph after a previous average of 97.5 mph. On Thursday, he averaged 99.6 mph and laid down after striking out Bobby Witt Jr. to end a bad inning.

Alcalá said he just feels good and hasn’t made any drastic changes.

“I feel good right now,” Alcalá said through an interpreter. “I feel like I’m throwing better than when I started in 2019. … I’m very grateful to the team for trusting me in these kinds of situations, but I’m staying the same, I’m working, I’m focused so that whenever I am called for those times, I am ready.

Perhaps, however, this improvement can be attributed to a significant life change. Alcalá became a father for the first time in April to a baby girl. The normally stoic pitcher smiled when asked about his child.

“Very happy,” Alcalá said. “She is also a motivation for me every day here.”

(Photo: David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

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