Twins offense erupts against Guardians — and their bullpen catcher bulks up

New York Times

29-04-2025

CLEVELAND — In the minutes after Monday night's blowout victory, Twins players roared in delight and counted aloud, the number soaring beyond 50. The raucous celebration was loud enough to disrupt the postgame press conference of manager Rocco Baldelli, who addressed the media in the hall steps away from the clubhouse entrance.
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'I don't know what's going on in there, but I'm liking the sounds of it,' Baldelli said. 'It's almost like it sounds like someone's body surfing or something.'
Nobody was surfing, nor were Twins players tallying up the copious amount of runs they produced in an 11-1 pounding of the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field for the team's fourth straight victory. Instead, Twins players cheered on the efforts of new bullpen catcher Frank Nigro, who does 10 pushups in the bullpen for every run his new team scores.
After completing 110 pushups for the relief corps during the game, Nigro dropped down and gave the entire clubhouse 54 more after a victory that lends credence to the idea the Twins aren't done yet despite starting the season 7-15.
Monday's win improved their record to 13-16 overall.
Nigro's pushups are part of a bet he made with old teammates. A popular former Twins minor-leaguer who took over when former bullpen catcher Connor Olson retired last offseason, Nigro arrived at spring training 20 pounds lighter than when played for Double-A Wichita in 2023. His old friends bet him he couldn't gain 15 pounds of weight without a sharp increase in body fat percentage.
'At this rate, I think he's on his way,' reliever Brock Stewart said.
Mostly dormant for the team's first 22 games, the Twins offense is keeping Nigro active the past week. In their past seven games, the Twins, who established a season high with 17 hits on Monday, are averaging six runs a game, scoring 11 twice, including Friday's victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
All this from a team that averaged 3.4 runs a game during their abysmal start.
'We're on a pretty good roll,' said second baseman Edouard Julien, who jump-started the Twins by belting the first pitch of the game for a solo home run to center.
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Julien's homer off Gavin Williams signaled the start of a long evening for Cleveland, which needed six pitchers, including position player Will Wilson.
After Julien homered, singles by Carlos Correa and Ty France and an RBI double by Ryan Jeffers provided a glimpse of what was to come. Williams, who owned a 2.12 ERA in four career starts against the Twins, struggled to throw strikes against a patient Twins bunch.
Newcomer Jonah Bride, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI, singled with one out in the second inning ahead of walks by Harrison Bader and Julien, which loaded the bases. Byron Buxton made it count with a two-run single to extend the lead to 4-0. The long second inning was the last for Williams, who allowed four earned runs and seven hits.
Three innings later, the Twins began to pile on.
Bride and Bader each produced two-out RBI singles to make it a six-run game in the fifth.
Designated for assignment by Miami earlier this month after a 4-for-40 start and acquired for cash on April 16, Bride is faring well with the Twins after adjusting his swing. He also singled in a third-inning at-bat and lined out in the ninth, marking a 7-for-14 start since joining the Twins.
France extended the lead to 8-1 in the sixth inning with a two-run double to center and scored on a two-out RBI single by Mickey Gasper, who also had two hits. Jeffers extended the lead to 11-1 in the eighth inning with a two-run homer off Wilson, who pitched the final two innings for the Guardians.
All nine Twins starters finished with at least a hit, as did the team's most recent acquisition, Kody Clemens, who doubled ahead of Jeffers' homer as a pinch hitter.
The outpouring was plenty more than pitcher Bailey Ober needed. Outstanding and efficient, Ober limited the Guardians to one run over 7 2/3 innings even though the long offensive innings required him to throw in the batting cage several times to stay sharp.
The blowout victory also ensured a long night for Nigro, one which had teammates howling and cheering, and one they'd like to replicate soon.
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'Every time we score a run I do 10,' Nigro said. 'I did 110 during the game. … When I played, I was heavier. I came into spring very skinny. They don't think I can gain 15 pounds of muscle.'
At their current rate, he's got a shot.
Stewart said the bullpen's newest addition fits in well for a multitude of reasons. Having worked with several of the team's pitchers in the minors, Nigro is familiar. He also has an easygoing personality and is a hard worker, which makes him seem like a natural fit. After recommending Nigro to the coaching staff, Stewart wasn't surprised to learn the name was suggested several times over after Olson announced his retirement.
'It was a slam dunk,' Stewart said. 'We knew he was going to be a morale guy and a guy for the culture. It's been great so far. He keeps us loose out there.'
Kody Clemens hits a double in his first at-bat with the Minnesota Twins! pic.twitter.com/qs8TpGu90C
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) April 29, 2025
At least for now, Luke Keaschall won't need surgery as the non-displaced fracture in his right forearm heals. But even after an additional medical opinion revealed Keaschall could simply be allowed to heal, the Twins won't reevaluate their talented young infielder for at least a month, trainer Nick Paparesta said.
'It's probably going to be a couple months before he's back into playing games,' Paparesta said.
Matt Wallner is healing well ahead of Keaschall, but he only began to play catch on Saturday, has yet to swing a bat and finally jogged on a treadmill on Monday. Paparesta said Wallner, who suffered a Grade 3 left hamstring strain on April 15, would be reevaluated when the team returns home next week.
The Twins are much more bullish on Willi Castro and Royce Lewis, who are both closing in on returning to the lineup. Out with a right oblique strain, Castro continues to perform most baseball activities, including hitting from the right side. Castro will hit from the left side on Tuesday, which should give the Twins a better idea of whether he could return in time for the Red Sox series starting on Friday.
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Lewis will play 10 innings as the team's designated hitter during a doubleheader for Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday, with a full game at third base slated for Wednesday. Though he'd potentially be an option for games in Boston starting Friday, it's likelier Lewis will play several more games over the weekend and return when the Twins open a homestand on May 6.
'We want to try to do whatever we can to try to mitigate it occurring again within that same calendar year, within that same season,' Paparesta said. 'To do that, you have to stress the tissues, you have to get his workload capacity, and you have to get his innings capacity up, similar to what we were doing in spring training with a lot of these guys.'
Also down with a hamstring strain, Austin Martin is in the middle of his running progression at St. Paul and is potentially a week away from playing in games. Martin has yet to run the bases. Michael Tonkin (right shoulder strain) is scheduled for a pair of multi-inning performances for St. Paul.
Five days after he cleared waivers and became a free agent, Matt Canterino is back with the Twins. Canterino, who had shoulder surgery on March 16 and is out for at least the remainder of the season, signed a two-year minor-league deal with the Twins.
Uber-talented and frequently injured, Canterino has a 1.48 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 85 career minor-league innings. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 30, 2022.
(Top photo of Ty France after hitting a double that scored two runs: Jason Miller / Getty Images)