Gibson, jump-start offense propel Twins in 6-3 win

Kyle Gibson notched his 13th victory Tuesday, giving up only one run over seven innings in the Twins' 6-3 victory over Arizona. That's more wins than any starter in one season but Phil Hughes has claimed since the Twins' 90-loss nightmare began in 2011. And Gibson knows exactly what that means for 2015.

Nothing.

"I need to go into the offseason just assuming I don't" have a spot in the 2015 rotation, the 26-year-old righthander said. "I've got to work hard this offseason, come into spring training and battle for a spot again. … For me to assume going into next year that I've got a spot would only be doing me a disservice."

Probably true, given that the confident, pinpoint-control Gibson who struck out eight and walked nobody Tuesday makes only periodic appearances on the mound. Gibson is 13-11, owns a 4.50 ERA with one start remaining, and knows he could have been, perhaps should have been, much more dominant during his second season.

"Obviously, I'd like to have about eight or 10 more of those kind of outings this year," he said. "Unfortunately I didn't, but I've got a chance to get better in five more days and finish on a high note."

Trevor Plouffe seems to be finishing that way; he collected four hits, scored a run and raised his average to .258.

The Twins scored three runs against Diamondbacks rookie Andrew Chafin in the third inning, with Eduardo Escobar contributing an RBI single and Chris Parmelee driving in two, and eventually built their lead to 6-1, allowing Gibson to relax and throw strikes.

But the Twins righthander has taken it to a different level this year. On Wednesday night, Hughes can accomplish something that's only been done five other times in major league history.

Hughes has walked 16 batters this season in 201⅔ innings. His 181 strikeouts already means he likely will finish with the greatest strikeout-to-walk ratio — it's 11.3 at the moment — of any starting pitcher in history.

But if Hughes can defeat the Diamondbacks and record his 16th victory without any walks, he will join Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson, former Twin Carlos Silva and two other pitchers as the only ones ever to record as many wins as walks in a season.

"It's something to shoot for," said Hughes, who has become aware as the season went on how rare his control has been in 2014. "I'd rather be on top in ERA or wins, but these stats, the few walks, it's pretty cool."

Especially since he's not quite certain how it's all fallen into place this way. Last year, he walked 42 in 145 innings, and in 2012 it was 46 in 191 innings.

''And I haven't gotten drawn into too many long at-bats. … I think after I established that I was throwing strikes, hitters didn't go deep into counts very often."

His teammates appreciate his approach, too.

"It's night and day, when a guy pumps the zone. It keeps you on your toes," second baseman Brian Dozier said. "A guy who can spot up, throw strikes, they make a big difference. And Phil's done the best job of anyone I've ever played behind."

• Joe Mauer left Tuesday's game after being hit on the right elbow by a pitch, an impact that hit a nerve, so he felt it "shooting up and down my arm." Nothing is broken, however, and while Mauer said it was stiff after the game, he could be back in the lineup Wednesday.

• Twins General Manager Terry Ryan on top prospect Miguel Sano, out since elbow surgery in February: "He's hitting balls a long way [in rehab]. He's starting to get pretty healthy. We're not going to let him play for awhile [because] the doctors don't want him to have some collision where he might hurt that right arm. But he's OK."