Starter Lance Lynn won his first game, Eddie Rosario drove in five runs and the Twins cruised to an 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. The Twins won consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month.
And yet just when things are looking up, catcher Jason Castro is now headed to the disabled list. In his place, the Twins will call up 35-year-old backstop Bobby Wilson from Triple-A Rochester.
But in order to make roster room for Wilson, some even worse news: The Twins will now move starting pitcher Ervin Santana to the 60-day disabled list, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Santana, who had offseason surgery on a finger, originally was set to return in early May. Now, the earliest he could be back is May 28, according to MLB Trade Rumors, which cited a report from Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.
The Twins miss Santana. He won 16 games last season and was someone the Twins could count on to win games and make quality starts. Do the Twins have that now? No, they don’t.
But at least Lynn won his first game of the season and had much better command over his pitches. Lynn struck out seven over six innings and limited the White Sox to two runs, both earned. Perhaps most important: Lynn didn’t issue a single walk.
Meanwhile, the Twins jumped all over old friend Hector Santiago, especially Rosario, who went 4-for-5 with a home run. In all, the Twins banged out 11 hits. Joe Mauer had two hits and Eduardo Escobar doubled. Max Kepler showed a lot of patience at the plate and drew three walks and scored twice.
Kyle Gibson gets the ball Sunday.
Extra innings…
-Logan Morrison struck out three times Saturday, the day after he had three hits, including a home run.
-The Twins’ disabled list is growing. Also on the DL: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.
-Castro isn’t a good hitter, but he is a good defensive catcher who also is known for his pitch-framing skills. That job now falls to Mitch Garver and Wilson.