The first meaningful September game at Target Field since 2010 felt like the beginning of the last episode of a favorite serial TV show. You don't know how it's going to end or whether it will be renewed.
Tuesday night, players wore presumptuous T-shirts welcoming the next month or two of baseball. September call-ups flooded the clubhouse, turning an often quiet space into what felt like a high school reunion. Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan answered questions about top pitching prospect Jose Berrios staying in Rochester instead of joining the big-league team.
Then, Tyler Duffey — called up instead of Berrios a month ago — looked like one of the Twins' most important players for this September, and perhaps many in the future, for exactly 4⅔ innings.
While the Twins' lineup continued its continuing mastery of the otherwise exceptional Chris Sale, Duffey teased and taunted the White Sox with a customizable curve and seemingly calmed nerves.
Through those 4⅔ innings, Duffey looked like the ideal addition to a pitching staff – a pitcher with savvy and underrated stuff.
Duffey not only got the call-up that might have gone to Berrios; he is well past the first-start nerves that Berrios would be subject to if he arrived this month.
On Aug. 5 in Toronto, Duffey faced baseball's most fearsome lineup and allowed six runs in two innings, earning a loss.
Since then, Duffey has gone from a necessary call-up to a key figure in the Twins' playoff chase.