Twins' Luis Arraez finding a niche as a pinch hitter

When a pinch-hit scenario presents itself to the Twins, there's one name that seems to always come up — if he's not already in the game, that is.

Luis Arraez is 5-for-15 as a pinch hitter in his career, an excellent .333 batting average. In fact, his MLB debut in 2019 was to pinch hit for injured Jonathan Schoop. Down 0-2 in the count, Arraez worked his way to a walk with some of his now-trademark moves.

Arraez pinch-hit in the Twins' season opener Friday, leading off the ninth inning in Gio Urshela's spot, and singled on a ground ball to center field. On Saturday, his 25th birthday, he batted second and hit a solo homer in the first inning, which Arraez said he had predicted to his wife the previous night. He also manned third base, turning an impressive third-to-first double play with Miguel Sano in the third inning.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said pinch hitting isn't as easy as it might seem, as players have to prepare themselves quickly without already being in the flow of the game. And that pressure amplifies when it's a late-game situation, as it was for Arraez on Friday coming in with the Twins down a run.

Part of what makes Arraez successful as a pinch hitter might be his mannerisms at the plate. He is quite animated, almost dancing around between pitches. Those theatrics could break a pitcher's concentration.

"His special skills, I think, are the same skills that make him a good hitter in general," Baldelli said. "… His feel in the box as a hitter, his ability to see the ball, his hand-eye coordination. He's not going up there, generally ever, swinging and missing, almost ever. He's putting good swings on the ball always. That's kind of who he is."

Arraez agreed, saying his routine is the same whether he's in the starting lineup or a substitute.

The Twins have built their reputation as the "Bomba Squad" ever since the 2019 team homered 307 times, breaking the MLB single-season record. But the flip side of that narrative is the Twins might rely too much on big hits and not enough on just reaching first base.

On Saturday against Seattle, the Twins went 16 at-bats without putting a man on base. Striking out, grounding out and popping out against three Mariners pitchers through the end of the second inning until the start of the eighth.

The Twins' only runs scored came from home runs from Arraez and Byron Buxton. And the only run in Friday's 2-1 loss was from Urshela's solo shot.

Baldelli said when facing strong pitchers like the Mariners have, hitters have to reframe their mindset a little bit closer than out of the park.

"We're looking for baserunners is what we're looking for," Baldelli said. "We're trying to hit the ball hard, yes, absolutely we are. But we're also looking to do whatever we have to do to win the ballgame. And a lot of the time, that's going to have to do with just having good, productive at-bats, getting your pitch that you're looking for, having a plan. "

Emilio Pagan has played for Seattle, Oakland, Tampa Bay, San Diego and now the Twins after his trade from the Padres on Thursday alongside Chris Paddack. So he's used to picking up and moving, but he credits his wife, Jordyn, for making all that turbulence no problem.

Pagan said his wife drove from their home in Charlotte, N.C., to San Diego ahead of the season, corralling their daughters — 4-year-old Paxtyn and 18-month-old Lexington — into the car with 80-pound dog Blaze. Then from San Diego to Phoenix ahead of the Padres season opener in Arizona. Then drove back to San Diego after the trade to make sure both of their cars could ship to Minnesota.

"She's a trouper," Pagan said. "… She's basically done everything for me so it makes my job easy. I've just got to go pitch."