In early going, Twins' Pablo López is living up to expectations

The Twins touted their acquisition of righthander Pablo López as if they had landed an ace. They spoke of his dedication and attention to detail. They even put him on the cover of this year's media guide — before he threw a pitch for his new team.

López, like fellow rotation mates Kenta Maeda, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan and Tyler Mahle, came to the Twins through trades. They feel good about the starters they have assembled, but didn't praise the other four members as glowingly as they have Lopez.

We're just three starts into the Pablo López experience. I was around in 2007 when Ramón Ortiz won his first three starts for the Twins, then didn't win another until August. But López is showing why the Twins are high on him.

López showed on Tuesday how to make adjustments while twirling 7⅔ innings in a game eventually won 4-3 by the Twins in 10 innings. López should have picked up his second win after his major heavy lifting. But Jhoan Duran blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth when his first-pitch curveball was struck by Luis Robert Jr. for a home run.

The first four White Sox batters of the game reached base. Twins torcher Andrew Benintendi singled at the end of a nine-pitch at-bat. Robert reached on López's throwing error. Gavin Sheets walked. Then Andrew Vaughn got a slider, which López refers to as a "sweeper," and ripped a two-run double to left.

The adjustments came immediately. López struck out Yasmani Grandal, then got broken-bat ground-ball outs from Jake Burger and Oscar Colas. He got ahead in the count and got Sox hitters chasing sliders and changeups moving off the plate.

In one of the more efficient runs by a Twins pitcher in recent memory, López retired 23 consecutive Chicago hitters after letting the first four on base. He needed 31 pitches to get through the first inning. He got those 23 consecutive outs on 67 pitches.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was booed when he walked to mound with two outs in the eighth to remove López. But boos changed to cheers as López strolled to the dugout.

"It is much easier to sit down and go through the scouting report and talk about something you are going to do," Baldelli said. "It is significantly more difficult to actually go out there and effectively do it in the right way, shape and form.

"He's good at that. It is something he appears to be talented with. That's what excellent players do, whether you're a pitcher or a position player, that's something all of the really good ones do."

López came to the Twins having thrown a fastball, cut fastball, curveball and perhaps the best changeup in baseball. Lopez, however was not satisfied with that arsenal. He arrived at spring training a new pitch, a swing-altering slider that he threw 28% of the time entering the game.

Working on a pitch and incorporating it is one thing. Elevating it to be his second-most used pitch says a lot about his willingness to improve.

"When you first meet Pablo López, you realize he's a very talented guy, very bright guy," Baldelli said. "But being smart and being sharp and being bright, it doesnt always translate to adjustment-making or feel or ability to pitch on the mound. Those are two totally different things, The thing with him is both of them (the changeup and slider) seem to be very, very, very much above average and almost at the elite level."

And López left with a lead as the Twins came back with two runs in the bottom of the first, when Donovan Solano led off with a double and Byron Buxton hammered a two-run homer to left.

Twins leadoff hitters were batting .178 and the No. 2 spot was hitting .167 entering the game.

Michael A. Taylor then got hold of a Lance Lynn curveball and planted it into the bullpens in left-center to give the Twins a 3-2 lead that López masterfully carried into the eighth inning. He deserved the win, but at least the Twins didn't lose their third consecutive game.

And everyone left Target Field on Tuesday night knowing what a stopper looks like.