Minnesota Twins Daily Clips. Tuesday, June 14, 2016

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1 Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Twins show their best again against Angels. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 1 Brian Dozier easing up on pulling ball. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 2 New Twins reliever Ramirez has arm, will travel. Star Tribune (Neal lll) p. 3 New Twins reliever Neil Ramirez ready to go Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 4 Twins club 3 homers to cruise past Angels. MLB.com (Ardaya and Gonzalez) p. 5 Twins show potential when everything clicks. MLB.com (Ardaya) p. 6 Twins claim reliever Ramirez off waivers. MLB.com (Ardaya) p. 7 Twins beat Angels 9-4 in their highest-scoring game of the season. Associated Press (Beacham) p. 7 Twins show their best again against Angels La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune June 14, 2016 The Twins might be petitioning the league to do away with the unbalanced schedule. Or try to move to the AL West. That would get them more games with the Angels. The Twins got their licks in on Jered Weaver and benefited from Angels bungling plays to pull away to a 9-4 victory Monday. It was just the fourth time this season that the Twins never trailed in a game and their highest scoring game of the year. Trevor Plouffe, Byron Buxton and Robbie Grossman hit home runs and righthander Ricky Nolasco became the first Twins starter to win three games. Los Angeles committed three errors, including two in the seventh as the Twins tacked on three more runs. They had a couple of miscues on the defensive side and we have paid the price for that this year, manager Paul Molitor said. A lot of teams have capitalized on our defensive mistakes. And tonight it was nice to see that when we got an opportunity with extra outs we were able to get some hits and keep adding on. The victory made the Twins 4-0 against the Angels, who have lost seven of their past eight games. A trip to Anaheim is just what the Twins needed. It s the same Angels team that appeared at Target Field in April as the Twins were reeling from an 0-9 start. The Twins were 3-9 after that series was over. Twenty wins, I probably could go through them all, Molitor said when asked if this was one of the Twins better wins this season. We had a fairly complete game in terms of defense was good for the most part. We got a solid start and the bullpen did its job. It s not a lot of nights we have been able to complement all areas of our game by being efficient. On Monday they slowly added to a 4-3 lead after four innings. Grossman scored as Plouffe grounded into a double play in the fifth to make it 5-3. Buxton hit his first home run of the season in the sixth, a floater down the left field line that sneaked into the seats to make the score 6-3. Then came the seventh inning. Grossman led off with a solo home run to center, but the Twins proceeded to score two more runs as Angels shortstop Gregorio Petit committed two errors and third baseman Yunel Escobar allowed Brian Dozier to reach third on a ground out despite being within tagging range of Escobar. Dozier ended up scoring the third run of the inning.

2 Nolasco, 3-4, struggled to get out of innings but managed to get through six innings, giving up seven hits and three runs. I had a little trouble putting some guys away, so I racked up a little bit of a pitch count, trying to put guys away and I ended up back in hitter s counts, Nolasco said. But it felt good. I wasn t trying to do too much. His only inning came in third, but he needed 16 pitches to get out of it because Mike Trout pulled off a 10-pitch at bat against him before flying out to center. But most of Nolasco s encounters Monday were similar. Giavotella led off the fourth with a single and moved to third on Todd Cunningham s double to right-center. Petit hit a sacrifice fly to score Giavotella, and Cunningham scored on a ground out to make it 4-3. Nolasco threw 21 pitches in that inning to push his total to 80. But he got plenty of help. Any time you get that type of offense it s great, Nolasco said. Hopefully we can keep it going. It s a good way to start this little road trip we ve got. Brian Dozier easing up on pulling ball La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune June 14, 2016 Brian Dozier thinks he s found something. The second baseman batted.341 during the Twins 10-game homestand and is batting.231 after going 1 for 4 on Monday. with seven homers and 25 RBI. Dozier had bottomed out at.199 and was dropped in the batting order until his recent surge. I feel like I m clicking at the plate, he said. I feel more comfortable, for a while actually. Driving balls, getting on base, everything feels natural. Something clicked about a month ago. I got back to my old self and started staying behind the ball rather than trying to jerk everything and getting everything out in front. The numbers support that. Dozier pulled 60.2 percent of his hits last season, tops in the league. Teams attacked that with shifts this season, and he struggled to adjust. But he s started to hit the ball up the middle and to the opposite field more as he s stayed behind the ball. He s hit the ball to center 34.6 percent of the time this year, up from 24.2 percent last year. He s pulling the ball less this year, at 53.1 percent. Twins manager Paul Molitor thinks opponents have already taken notice. I think that he s trying to [use the whole field], Molitor said. We still see the hook swing, which is fine. One of the things I ve noticed is that how he is swinging at some of the balls he has hit has minimized the shifts he has seen and, thusly, he has been able to hit some balls through the left side of the infield that were getting gobbled up earlier in the year. Carew to be honored On Tuesday, the Angels will announce that they are joining the Heart of 29 Campaign that the Twins started in January for Rod Carew, who suffered a massive heart attack on Sept. 20 and is now awaiting a transplant. The campaign raises funds for the American Heart Association while raising awareness about heart disease. Carew, who played 12 years with the Twins and seven with the Angels, is surviving now with the help of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which pumps blood into the aorta. Carew will throw out the first pitch before Tuesday s game. More bullpen problems The bullpen has been worked hard in recent games. Everyone s had to throw a couple innings. And Phil Hughes is out indefinitely after taking a line drive off his left knee Thursday. 2

3 Consequently, the Twins really don t have an innings eater in the bullpen right now. That could lead to major jugging if starters get knocked out early during this series. Molitor mentioned Taylor Rogers, Michael Tonkin and Buddy Boshers as the best candidates to pitch a turn through the batting order. But he just can t afford to do it right now. I ve had to use them more frequently and it kind of eliminates the length, he said. We re kind of in that position now where, until we get a couple long starts, that I have to keep these outings to two innings or less to keep people available. Etc. Lefthander Glen Perkins, who has suffered a setback in his recovery from shoulder soreness, is getting his second opinion at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He will be examined by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache. Perkins will return to the Twin Cities on Tuesday night. Outfielder Danny Santana is off to Class AAA Rochester for rehabilitation assignment. He has been out since May 30 with a left hamstring strain. New Twins reliever Ramirez has arm, will travel La Velle E. Neal lll Star Tribune June 14, 2016 Since he was designated for assignment for the second time this season, Neil Ramirez visited his parents in Huntington Beach, Va., last week. The plan was for him and his wife, Tiffany, to spend some time at the beach Sunday while he waited to learn where he s be pitching next. They never made it. Ramirez got a call that morning and learned the Twins had claimed him off waivers, and he was off to Anaheim for his latest adventure. His head still was spinning from his short stint with the Brewers, a stint that lasted just two outings. But Ramirez was trying to get settled in there after being designated for assignment by the Cubs. That s right. Three teams in three months for Ramirez. From a Cubs team with a.705 winning percentage as of Monday to Milwaukee (.476) and now the Twins (.306). My wife, unfortunately, she has been stressed out with all of [the logistics], Ramirez said. She had built some relationships with the people from Chicago too. We re both just going with it, dealing with it the best you can. Just hoping to just come here and do my part. Ramirez, 27, would love to hang his hat somewhere for a while. Drafted by the Rangers with the 44th overall pick in 2007, Ramirez was a player to be named later in the deal with the Cubs that sent Matt Garza to Texas. His career couldn t have started any better, as he posted a 0.64 ERA through his first 16 games with the Cubs in 2014 and became a late-inning setup stalwart. He finished the season with a 1.44 ERA over 50 games. He touched 96 miles per hour on the radar gun and threw a nasty slider. I just told myself I was going to go right at guys, he said. I had that mindset that whole year. His 2015 season was limited to 14.0 innings, mostly due to shoulder problems, but he also had abdominal muscle soreness. Ramirez had a 4.70 ERA through eight outings with the Cubs when he was designated for assignment May 21 when Chicago wanted to go to 12 pitchers. The Brewers claimed him and gave him two appearances, but he was designated for assignment May 31 after giving up back-to-back homers to the Phillies Jimmy Paredes and Cameron Rupp. Twins manager Paul Molitor said there first were internal discussions about Ramirez when the Cubs severed ties with him in May. They see a fresh arm that can help a beleaguered bullpen that entered Monday with a 4.58 ERA that was 14th in the American League. Ramirez will be the 23rd pitcher used by the club this season when he gets into a game. The one thing that has been holding him back a little bit has been command issues throughout his career, Molitor said of Ramirez, who has 3

4 walked an average of 4.2 batters per nine innings in his career and has walked eight batters in 9⅓ innings this season. His strikeout ratio has been good, major leagues and minor leagues. Velocity is down a little bit on his fastball but his slider is a really effective pitch against righties and lefties. I m just going to try to blend him in. Ramirez will appreciate the work. Because of the roster moves, he s gone 13 and 15 days between appearances and hasn t been on a mound since June 5. He feels he needs consistent use to return to the force he was with the Cubs. I don t think it is that far off, Ramirez said. It s a matter of trusting your stuff and not thinking about anything other than that. Anytime there is some self-doubt that creeps in that s not a good place to be. Just getting back to being the bulldog and going out there and competing. New Twins reliever Neil Ramirez ready to go John Shipley Pioneer Press June 13, 2016 Neil Ramirez has allowed six earned runs in his past six appearances, 5.1 innings total with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. But that s not the entire picture, and anyway, the Twins are in no position to kick tires. The Twins claimed the right-hander off waivers from Milwaukee on Sunday and had him in uniform for Monday s late game against the Angels in Anaheim. After surrendering 27 runs in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend at Target Field, the Twins had the fifth hardestworking bullpen in the majors (216.1 innings) with the fifth-worst earned-run average (4.58) Molitor said Monday he wasn t sure how Ramirez will be used because the Twins need pitchers in every situation. Not only was the bullpen overworked this weekend; starter/long reliever Phil Hughes was lost for the foreseeable future because of a fractured femur after being hit by a line drive in a 10-3 loss to the Marlins last Thursday. I just told (Ramirez) we need pitching, we need fresh arms, and you ll get an opportunity, Molitor told reporters before Monday night s game. Ramirez certainly is fresh; he hasn t pitched in a game since giving up two runs in two-thirds of an inning in Milwaukee s 8-1 loss to Philadelphia on June 5. He was at home in Virginia Beach when he learned the Twins had picked him up, throwing to stay ready. Obviously, really excited and grateful for the opportunity, Ramirez said. Ramirez, 27, has surrendered earned runs in four of his past six appearances but started the season with four perfect innings for the Cubs. Although he has an ERA over in his past six appearances, he is 4-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 79 major league innings, mostly with the Cubs. In 67 innings, he has given up 48 hits and 31 walks and struck out 81. I ve talked to people about him, not only yesterday but when he first came out as a DFA by the Cubs, Molitor said. You know, the one thing that s been holding him back is a little bit of control issues throughout his career strikeout ratio has been good, minor leagues, major leagues. Velocity s down a little bit on his fastball, but the slider is still really an effective pitch against righties and lefties. I m just going to try to blend him in. It s not really a long role, it s not really anything specific. The Twins have had luck with unwanted players already this season. Outfielder Robbie Grossman, who opted out of his deal with Cleveland when the Indians didn t call him up to the big leagues, is hitting.315 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and a.457 OPS in 22 games since joining Minnesota in May. SHORT ON LENGTH Because Ramirez hasn t pitched in a game since June 5, Molitor said he was wary of using him in long relief. On the other hand, if starter Ricky Nolasco faltered against the Angels, he didn t have many options. Unfortunately, with the innings that have been demanded from the pen, some of the guys that can give me length (Taylor) Rogers, (Michael) 4

5 Tonkin, (Buddy) Boshers to some degree I ve had to use them more frequently, and when you (do that), it kind of eliminates the length, the manager said. Since June 9, those three had combined for 6 2/3 innings. We re kind of in that position where until we get a couple of long outings (from starters) stacked up, I have to kind of keep these outings to two innings or less to keep people available, Molitor said. Said Ramirez: He told me for right now they just are going to use me kind of wherever they see a need throughout a game, so he said just be ready to go at all times, so that s what I ll do just be ready to go. Twins club 3 homers to cruise past Angels Fabian Ardaya and Alden Gonzalez MLB.com June 14, 2016 Trevor Plouffe, Byron Buxton and Robbie Grossman all homered, and Ricky Nolasco contributed a quality start as the Twins rolled past the Angels, 9-4, in Southern California on Monday night, giving Minnesota its second straight win. The Angels have dropped seven of their last eight to fall to last place in the American League West, 12 games behind the Rangers. Plouffe gave the Twins a 4-1 lead in the third with a three-run homer off Angels starter Jered Weaver, who was charged with six runs (five earned) in six innings. Buxton cranked his first home run down the left-field line in the sixth and Grossman went deep off Al Alburquerque in the seventh, kicking off an inning that saw Minnesota plate three runs. "[Plouffe] wiped the slate clean when he put three on the board," said Twins manager Paul Molitor, whose team is 4-0 against the Angels this season. "Weaver was using his off-speed, like he always does, pitching backwards. He had a lot of us off stride early, but it was nice to see Trevor [Plouffe] stay back on an off-speed and hit it out of the park." Nolasco gave up only three runs -- on an infield single and a couple of run-scoring outs -- in six innings, scattering seven hits, walking one and striking out five. The Angels' lone bright spot was Johnny Giavotella, who tallied four hits, including a home run in the ninth inning. But the Angels still fell 10 games below.500 for the first time since Aug. 31, "It's one thing to lose, but we're kind of beating ourselves up there," Weaver said. "It's a little frustrating. But we just have to stay on track and keep grinding, see if we can't work out of this." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Second chances: The Twins looked like they would go down quietly in the third inning as first baseman Joe Mauer hit into what appeared to be a routine, inning-ending double-play to Giavotella, the Angels' second baseman. Giavotella bobbled it, however, and threw the ball past shortstop Gregorio Petit and into left field. Plouffe took advantage, taking a 76 mph Weaver changeup and depositing it a Statcast-projected 405 feet away into the bullpen in left for a three-run homer to make it 4-1. "It's inexcusable," Giavotella said of his play. "I work hard on my defense, I take pride in [working on it] every day. I had a routine play there. I didn't charge it, which I should've done, tried to be quick with the throw and rushed it, didn't have a good grip, and threw it wide. It put us in a hole, put Weave in a hole, and we couldn't get out of it." Home run Weaver: Weaver has now allowed a Major League-leading 18 home runs, just nine shy of his previous career high, set in Weaver has six quality starts this season, but has allowed at least six earned runs in four starts since the beginning of May. His ERA is now Angels starters are 0-6 with an 8.33 ERA over the last seven games, even though Matt Shoemaker threw eight scoreless innings in that stretch. Weaver nonetheless said it was "the best I've felt in a while." "He's pitching a lot with all his pitches, and at times, if you're not perfect with some of your pitches and you get them up a little bit, guys are going to have pretty good swings against them, and I think we're seeing that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's pitched some good games for us this year, and tonight there were just some pitches he'd like to have back." Buxton blast: Buxton is not typically known for his power, but he got around on a Weaver 78 mph changeup and sent it a Statcast-projected 348 feet down the left-field line for a solo homer in the sixth inning to make it 6-3. It was his first home run this season, and just the third of his 5

6 career. Sloppy, sloppy: The Angels made three mistakes on defense in the three-run seventh inning that allowed the Twins to pull away. Petit, who had been solid defensively all year, booted a couple of grounders. And rather than tag Brian Dozier when he stopped between second and third with one out, Yunel Escobar froze after fielding a grounder, prompting him to only record one out and allowing an additional run to score. The next batter, Kurt Suzuki, dumped an RBI single into shallow right field. QUOTABLE "They had a couple miscues on the defensive side. We've paid the price for that this year. A lot of teams have capitalized on our defensive mistakes, and tonight it was nice to see that we were able to get some hits with extra outs."-- Molitor, on defensive miscues going in his team's favor WHAT'S NEXT Twins: Former Angel Ervin Santana (1-6, 4.77 ERA) gets the nod in the second game of the series at 9:05 p.m. CT on Tuesday at Angel Stadium. Santana has lost each of his last four decisions and has a 7.30 ERA in two June starts. Angels: Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin starts on Tuesday, with game time set for 7:05 p.m. PT. Chacin (2-4, 4.83 ERA) gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Twins show potential when everything clicks Fabian Ardaya MLB.com June 14, 2016 For much of the season, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor has watched opponents take advantage of his young team's mistakes. The Twins were able to flip the script on Monday night, making the most of their opponent's gaffes as they roared to a 9-4 road win over the Angels. While the Angels struggled with sloppy play and committed three errors, the Twins looked sharp in what Molitor said might have been their most complete game of the year. "There's not a lot of nights where we've been able to complement all areas of the game and be efficient, and we haven't had that many games where we've had a lead of five, six runs going in late," Molitor said. Defensively, they were sharp. The lone mistake, an interference call on third baseman Trevor Plouffe, was quickly eradicated as starter Ricky Nolasco struck out Yunel Escobar to end the second inning. Plouffe bounced back to kick the offense into gear the next half-inning, taking a 76 mph changeup from Jered Weaver and driving it a Statcastprojected 405 feet out to left field for a three-run, tie-breaking homer. "[Plouffe] wiped the slate clean when he put three on the board," Molitor said of the homer. "Weaver was using his off-speed, like he always does, pitching backwards. He had a lot of us off stride early, but it was nice to see Trevor stay back on an off-speed and hit it out of the park." Plouffe took advantage of an Angels error from second baseman Johnny Giavotella, which negated a sure-fire inning-ending double play and instead left two men on the basepaths. "It's inexcusable," Giavotella said of his play. "I work hard on my defense, I take pride in [working on it] every day. I had a routine play there." The power surge continued throughout the night, as center fielder Byron Buxton also took Weaver deep for his first home run of the season. Left fielder Robbie Grossman added on in the seventh, taking a low fastball from reliever Al Alburquerque and driving it out to center field. Two more runs would score in the frame, in large part due to two errors from Angels shortstop Gregorio Petit. "They had a couple miscues on the defensive side," Molitor said. "We've paid the price for that this year. A lot of teams have capitalized on our defensive mistakes, and tonight it was nice to see that we were able to get some hits with extra outs." Nolasco grinded his way to a quality start, giving up three runs and scattering seven hits over six innings and 106 pitches. He was effective when it mattered, holding the first four hitters in the Angels lineup -- Escobar, Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols -- to a 1-for-12 showing. 6

7 For one of the few times this season, the Twins had everything going. Twins claim reliever Ramirez off waivers Fabian Ardaya MLB.com June 13, 2016 It's been hard for Twins reliever Neil Ramirez to find a place he can call home lately. Yet it was at his childhood home of Virginia Beach, Va. where the right-hander received a call from Twins general manager Terry Ryan on Sunday. He had been claimed off waivers by Minnesota, his third big league team within the last month. The Cubs, who Ramirez broke into the Majors with in 2014, designated him for assignment on May 21. After claiming him off waivers, the Brewers gave him the same treatment on June 8. Now, Ramirez is looking to stick with yet another ball club. "It's been a whirlwind these last couple weeks, but I'm just trying to make the most of this opportunity here," he said. Ramirez, 27, posted a 5.79 ERA in 10 appearances in the Majors this season with the Cubs and Brewers. In 79 career appearances, he has a 2.42 ERA and three saves. Despite his movement, Ramirez said he's "not that far" from being a productive reliever in the Majors. "You just have got to remain focused and just trust the process," he said. "I feel like the work I've put in has got me ready, and I just want to remember that and be confident and trust in my ability." Twins manager Paul Molitor said he's had interest in Ramirez since the Cubs designated him for assignment. While Ramirez's specific role has yet to be decided, Molitor said a fresh arm will definitely help out a tired Twins bullpen that has thrown the second-most innings in the American League (216 1/3). "The only thing that's held [Ramirez] back has been command issues throughout his career," Molitor said. "His walk-strikeout ratio has been good in the Minor Leagues and the Major Leagues. His velocity is down a little bit on his fastball, but the slider is still really effective against righties and lefties. I'm just going to try to blend him in." Worth noting Molitor said shortstop Danny Santana would begin a Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Monday. Santana has not played since injuring his left hamstring on May 30 against Oakland. Twins closer Glen Perkins will receive a second opinion on his left shoulder on Tuesday in California before flying back to Minnesota. Perkins has not pitched in the big leagues since April 10, leaving much of the closer duties to Kevin Jepsen. Molitor said third baseman Miguel Sano has had "gradually small increments of improvement" on his strained left hamstring, but is still not close to beginning a rehab assignment. He has not played since May 31. Twins beat Angels 9-4 in their highest-scoring game of the season Greg Beacham Associated Press June 14, 2016 Paul Molitor knows the standings aren t flattering to the Minnesota Twins, who have won only 20 games all season. The manager still allowed the Twins a moment to appreciate one of their best performances of the year. Trevor Plouffe hit a three-run homer, Byron Buxton and Robbie Grossman also homered and the Twins beat the slumping Los Angeles Angels 9-4 on Monday night. Joe Mauer had two hits while reaching base for the 25th consecutive game for the AL-worst Twins, who battered Jered Weaver (5-6) in their highest-scoring performance of the season. 7

8 Ricky Nolasco (3-4) yielded three runs over six innings in his second victory since April 21 for Minnesota, which won consecutive games for the second time in June. Although they re still 6 1/2 games behind Los Angeles for the AL s second-worst record, the Twins got off to an encouraging start on their brief West Coast trip. We had a fairly complete game, Molitor said. Defense was good for the most part. We got a nice, solid start, and the bullpen did their job. It s not a lot of nights when we ve been able to complement all areas of our game. I don t know if it s one of our best games, but we haven t had many games where we ve had leads of five, six runs going in late, so in that sense, it might be right up there. Johnny Giavotella homered and had a career-high four hits for the Angels (27-37), who committed three errors while falling into last place in the AL West for the first time since the season s opening week. With reliever Cory Rasmus as the latest addition to their ridiculously lengthy injured list, the Angels dropped to a season-worst 10 games below.500 with their eighth loss in 10 games. The guys that are left are a good team, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. I know we re going to play better. I know we re going to become a better team. At times, it s tough to be patient, but we re going to get our rotation in order in the next couple of weeks, and that s going to get our bullpen where it needs to be. Weaver allowed eight hits and six runs in six innings, taking his fifth loss in seven starts. The veteran right-hander has allowed 18 homers this season, the most in the majors. Veteran reliever Al Alburquerque allowed three runs in the seventh inning in his Angels debut, although shortstop Gregorio Petit s two errors were also culpable. Alburquerque is the 41st player to get on the field this season for the injury-plagued Angels, who were booed by the home crowd during that ugly inning. Mike Trout went 1 for 4 as the Angels designated hitter one day after getting a bruised thumb from a pitch by Cleveland reliever Tommy Hunter. After Mauer s RBI single in the first inning, Minnesota got three runs on one hit in the third. Grossman walked and Mauer reached on Giavotella s throwing error before Plouffe put his fifth homer into the bullpens beyond left field. Plouffe, a San Fernando Valley native batting cleanup for the Twins, hit his second homer in a week after going a month without a homer. It s all kind of irrelevant, Giavotella said after his impressive offensive game. The story tonight is our defense. I made an error to put us in a hole, and we couldn t get out of it. That loss is on me. We can t give teams extra outs. Buxton put the Twins up 6-3 in the sixth with his first homer since last Sept. 30, clipping the top of the short fence in the left-field corner. Grossman added a solo shot in the seventh. Giavotella hit his first homer since May 14 in the ninth. TRAINER S ROOM Twins: Closer Glen Perkins will get a second opinion on his injured shoulder Tuesday in California, Molitor said. Angels: Rasmus went on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain, the latest injury to befall the Angels pitching staff. Los Angeles recalled right-handers Alburquerque and A.J. Achter. UP NEXT Twins: Ervin Santana (1-6, 4.77 ERA) takes the mound again in the ballpark he called home for eight years. Angels: Jhoulys Chacin (1-2, 4.42 ERA) threw an exceptional four-hitter in his last home start May 30, striking out 10. 8