Headrick, Twins' bullpen stand tall in shutout

MINNEAPOLIS -- A day after the Tigers used a bullpen game to limit the Twins to one run, Minnesota had plans for its own.

The Twins wanted to add an extra day of rest for the rotation during a string of 16 straight days with games. They had outlined Saturday against Detroit for a designed game to use several relievers, with José De León drawing the opening assignment after 10 relief appearances for Minnesota this season.

De León, a onetime prospect with the Dodgers, provided the early boost and five more pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout in the Twins’ 2-0 win.

Brent Headrick, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A St. Paul, got his first career MLB win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Emilio Pagán, Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran added to Minnesota’s string of effective relief.

“Yeah, just sharp,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of his pitching staff's performance. “Just everywhere you looked, guys came in very sharp, very prepared, executing right off the bat. Not waiting a hitter or two or three to find themselves. Really good-looking game up and down, obviously.

“We turned to a lot of different guys. You don’t know how those games are going to go. You have to react, and players have to be on their toes and ready to go, and they absolutely were. We made the plays behind our guys and played a really nice baseball game right there.”

The pitching was aided by a strong defensive effort. Willi Castro and Carlos Correa combined to throw out a runner at the plate in the fifth inning to keep the shutout alive, and Royce Lewis started a pair of double plays in the final two innings after leadoff base hits.

After Miguel Cabrera doubled to left field for the first hit of the game with two outs in the fifth, Castro threw the ball to Correa, who made the quick relay to Ryan Jeffers at home plate to narrowly nab Zack Short, who was trying to score from first on the play after a walk.

“Our pitchers have been dominant and they help us a ton,” Lewis said. “It'd be nice for us to put up 10 or 12 to help them sometimes. But that's not always the case. Our defense as a whole since I've been here has been executing very well.”

Headrick, the 6-foot-6, 25-year-old left-hander, was the beneficiary of the play at the plate and he struck out two in his fourth Major League game. Headrick, who has logged some time as a starter, was third in the line of relievers Saturday after De León and Pagán had kept Detroit off the bases through 3 2/3 innings.

“Shutouts are great no matter who’s pitching,” Headrick said. “Definitely, on a day like this, Jeffers had his hands full with a lot of pitchers and stuff, too. Credit to the staff. Everyone came in and did their job, and it’s good to get the win.”

Jeffers enjoyed his day behind the plate as the relievers continued to put up zeros.

“Bullpen days are fun,” Jeffers said. “I think it’s a little bit of a challenge for both teams. [Against] the Tigers, you can’t really fall into a pattern with any guy. You don’t really get two ABs off a single guy. That’s kind of the idea of a bullpen day. I think bullpen days are really effective when guys can go out there and just do their jobs, and throw the ball like they did today.”

De León made his first start since 2021. Through 11 appearances this season, the right-hander has a 3.38 ERA.

“Mixed feelings because I've always been a starter, but I'm getting to enjoy being a reliever,” De León said. “Getting the nod to start today was special.”

And the 30-year-old De León set the tone.

“It’s a challenge for the hitters to go out there and see these different guys,” Baldelli said. “But your pitchers have to execute. Because if your guy doesn’t execute right off the bat, and the game doesn’t start out smoothly, it can become really challenging. … The reason the game went like this today is because the guys who started the game for us, De León and Pagan, they were so sharp and so clean, it actually shortened the game up for us because they were able to do their jobs so well. It’s what you’re hoping to see, and we got it.”