MINNEAPOLIS – Through eight weeks of the season, the Twins have gotten saves from nine different pitchers. With the way Andrew Morris handled his chance on Wednesday, that number may stop climbing soon.
Morris, a starter throughout his career until this season, pitched a perfect ninth inning against the heart of the Astros order to close out a 4-1 win at Target Field. Minnesota has cycled through late-inning options as manager Derek Shelton has admitted that the team is looking for pitchers to take late-inning opportunities and run with them.
As Morris’ role has shifted from Minor League starter to Major League long reliever to higher and higher leverage appearances on the big club, he’s one pitcher who’s doing just that. Over his last nine outings, Morris has allowed two earned runs in 11 innings (1.64 ERA), striking out seven against three walks and never looking rattled as the moment has gotten bigger and bigger.
It wasn’t officially Morris’ first save opportunity, but it was his first time closing in a classic sense. It was the first time a game was set up for him to pitch the ninth inning with a lead – and it started with superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez, no less.
“I was trying to tell myself that’s what I’ve been working towards,” Morris said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to work towards. I want to be the guy in those spots. I think I can be really good at it. I appreciate the trust and the experience that I’ve been building.”
When Morris first came up, it was purely a matter of need. He competed for a starting job in Spring Training and began the season in the rotation for Triple-A St. Paul. He was recalled when Cody Laweryson went on the injured list, and in his first game he pitched three innings after entering with a seven-run lead.
Subsequent outings were mostly of the longer variety, but in the past couple of weeks Morris has started to be used more like a typical late-inning reliever. He followed Joe Ryan in a tie game in the seventh in Cleveland, and took a tough loss after entering with a one-run lead in the eighth on Friday against the Brewers.
Morris recorded holds against Milwaukee on Sunday and Houston on Monday, meaning that not only was this his first time pitching as a conventional closer, but he was also pitching for the third time in four days.
“I wanted to see what the velo is,” Shelton said. “I normally don’t pay attention to velo, but it’s the first time in his career that he’s been three of four. When he threw the first pitch and it was 96, I was like, all right, we’re in a good spot.”
He was efficient, getting Alvarez to pop up, striking out Christian Walker and inducing a ground out from Jake Meyers. Easy as 1-2-3.
The Twins will likely continue to mix and match to some degree in the late innings. Against more lefty-heavy lineups, Anthony Banda and Taylor Rogers will play big roles. Eric Orze and Luis Garcia also have gained some trust from Shelton, and Yoendrys Gomez was brilliant in front of Morris on Wednesday.
It’s definitely not as cut and dried as Morris being The Closer now, and it’s entirely possible the Twins won’t get to a point this year where they’re funneling the bulk of save chances to any one pitcher. But Morris has shown that he can handle intense situations, and he earns more trust with every outing.
Asked what he likes about Morris beyond mere effectiveness, Shelton paid the rookie a hearty compliment.
“Lack of heartbeat, and I mean that in such a beautiful way,” Shelton said. “You talk to him and it’s like, ‘Hey, all right, it’s the ninth.’ You love that about him that he doesn’t get too high or too low. Nothing has really affected him. The transition to the bullpen, the transition then to a smaller role, then transition to leverage, he’s handled everything about as well as a young kid could.”