Is this the year that pitcher Kyle Gibson finally wins consistently and puts his win-one, lose-one pattern of pitching behind him? Maybe it is. This spring he leads the team with 28.1 innings pitched, surrendering only five earned runs over that span to give him an ERA of 1.59.
And he pitched well on Sunday, shutting out the Boston Red Sox for six innings before he stepped aside for the bullpen which got lit up like the Hindenburg and cost the Twins the game, 7-2. Before the Ryan Pressly and Buddy Boshers’ meltdown, Gibson went six innings and gave up four hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
He worked on his delivery during the offseason, according to MLB.com:
After posting a 5.07 ERA while dealing with back issues last season, Gibson reworked his delivery and has impressed Twins manager Paul Molitor. He’s scheduled to throw again on Friday against Triple-A Rochester before starting Minnesota’s third game of the year, against the Royals on April 6.
Extra innings…
-It was disappointing to learn that pitcher Jose Berrios will not make the club out of spring training, but instead will start the year at Triple-A Rochester. Berrios spent most of his spring with team Puerto Rico as they raced through the World Baseball Classic to face team USA in the final. He was thought to be competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, but that battle now falls to Tyler Duffey and Adalberto Mejia.
Duffey and Mejia have pitched well this spring.
According to MLB.com:
Mejia has been impressive all spring in Grapefruit League play, sporting a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings, while Duffey has come on strong and owns a 3.86 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. Duffey helped his case against Double-A Portland on Saturday, allowing one unearned run over six innings with 10 strikeouts. Mejia struggled against Triple-A Pawtucket, allowing six runs on 10 hits over six innings.
Berrios had an elevated ERA during the classic, but he also showed he can strike guys out with 10 strikeouts over six-plus innings. If Gibson can turn a corner than so can Berrios. The Twins signed catcher Jason Castro for a reason. Let’s see what he can do with Berrios.
