Cole Sands’ embrace of opener role benefitting Twins

Cole Sands was cruising on Saturday The Minnesota righty set down the first six Pittsburgh Pirates he faced after starting what would eventually be a - Twins win and needed just pitches to do so Even though Sands was designated in an opener role did the early success and low pitch count have Twins manager Rocco Baldelli considering giving Sands a third inning of work Not a chance He hasn t thrown really more than an inning and two-thirds or two innings is a rarity for him so no that wasn t a consideration Baldelli explained looking back on a day that was dominated by Byron Buxton becoming the first athlete to hit for the cycle at Target Field But after a event in which practically no one was focused on the pitching Baldelli singled out the men on the mound for their success in giving the Twins several momentum headed into the All-Star break We ve played well in every way I would say we ve pitched really well and I think everything is going to start there unfailingly he announced You re not going to beat good teams and you re not going to play consistently good baseball unless your pitchers are going out there and giving you a great chance Baldelli noted that the Twins have won two bullpen games in the past few days and specifically praised pitchers like Sands for being willing and happy to take on the opener role knowing that he was going to have two innings tops He s pitched good when we ve appealed him to do it Baldelli revealed And I think part of it is the mental side of when you re advised that you re opening you re up for it You re not just thinking negatively because not every pitcher wants to do it OK being overshadowed With a big crowd on hand for Saturday s meeting with the Pirates Twins infielder Kody Clemens had himself a day Clemens who came over in a deal from Philadelphia early in the season went -for- with his sixth multi-hit effort of the season and just his second multi-hit encounter at Target Field In the second inning Clemens brought the big crowd to life by turning the first pitch he faced into a three-run homer his th of the season to give Minnesota an early - lead And on a day where Buxton s heroics have his batting helmet being shipped to the Baseball Hall of Fame Clemens early offense became an afterthought And Clemens was fine with that I m reliably down to watch somebody hit for the cycle That was obviously extremely impressive and fun to be a part of stated Clemens who entered Sunday s match after putting up a batting average with five homers in his previous eight Twins home games Buxton is just so impressive to watch He s so dangerous when he gets in the box and he has a plan And when he gets his pitch he s gonna do damage Smoke not a factor Soccer pictures for Baldelli s young daughter were cancelled on Saturday due to the persistent smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting into Minnesota which had certain folks in the Twin Cities wearing facemasks to filter the unhealthy air The manager stated it was maybe because they re so focused on what s happening on the field but he and the players did not take note of the haze until they were done with work on Saturday Mostly when I got out of the stadium is when I felt it more than in the stadium he declared noting that none of the players or trainers expressed any concern or performance issues from the smoke Related Articles Making a splash Byron Buxton hits for cycle in Twins win against Pirates Why the Twins nearly had to pull Joe Ryan after one inning Friday Joe Ryan survives early struggles as Twins beat Pirates ace Paul Skenes Baldelli says marquee pitching duel is must-see TV Twins prep for all scenarios ahead of Sunday s first round of the MLB Draft