Josh Winder is ruining the Twins' pitching plans. Assigned a role as the long reliever in the bullpen, Winder has now made two fill-in starts to help the team cover for a pair of pitchers on the injured list.
Just a hunch: He'll get a third start, too.
Winder muffled the Oakland offense over six innings Friday, giving up three singles and nothing else, while striking out eight. Jose Miranda and Byron Buxton hit solo home runs for the Twins, who survived a tense ninth inning for their seventh consecutive Target Field victory, 2-1 over the Athletics.
"We're a month into the season and we've had some really good pitching outings. The one Winder threw tonight may have been the best," acting manager Jayce Tingler said. "He was in command of all his pitches."
He really only needed two. Using a fastball that reached 94 mph and sliders 10 mph slower, Winder flustered the A's into 16 swing-and-misses, and four 1-2-3 innings. The rookie righthander gave up an unearned run on an infield hit, a misplayed grounder by Jorge Polanco, and a sacrifice fly — but he has yet to give up an earned run in his 12 innings as a starter.
Winder had defensive help, most notably in the second inning, when the A's managed two of their three hits off him. With two out and Stephen Piscotty on second base, Oakland shortstop Elvis Andrus lined a hit into left field. Trevor Larnach fielded the ball on one hop and threw a strike to catcher Gary Sanchez that beat Piscotty by 15 feet.
"That play was huge," Tingler said of Larnach's third outfield assist. "Plays like that shift the momentum back into our dugout."
Max Kepler also made a diving catch in right field, and center fielder Gilberto Celestino did the same on Jed Lowrie's sacrifice fly. And with the bases loaded in the ninth, Miranda saved a potential tying run by racing forward to scoop up a dribbler from Seth Brown and shovel it to Sanchez for a forceout, before Emilio Pagan struck out Chad Pinder swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
