FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It took him six months longer than he had originally hoped, but on Friday, Michael Pineda finally made his first Twins start, pitching the first two innings of Minnesota's 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
In Pineda's first outing against Major League hitters since July 2017, the big right-hander's fastball touched 95 mph in the first inning, and he finished his 26-pitch appearance by freezing Red Sox designated hitter Bryce Brentz for a strikeout on a slider down in the zone.
"I had a year and a half of not pitching in Major League games, and today's my first time to come back to pitch, and I feel great," Pineda said.
Pineda said that his fastball had also touched 95 mph during his rehab assignment last August before his comeback bid was shut down by a torn meniscus in his right knee. But as he repeated four times in his postgame interview, Pineda wasn't worried about his velocity; he entered Friday with only the goal of commanding all of his pitches and staying healthy. The strong velocity was an added bonus.
"A couple of friends said, 'Oh, you threw hard today!'" Pineda said. "I'm thanking God, but I'm not really focused on that. ... I'm a power pitcher, but with a couple of surgeries, the only thing is I want to be healthy and compete. I'm not focused on the velocity."
The 30-year-old, who signed a two-year, $10 million contract prior to last season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, led the American League with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 2016, when he was with the Yankees, and his fastball velocity averaged 94.6 mph, per Statcast. Barring any setbacks, Pineda will have a spot in the Twins' Opening Day starting rotation.
Manager Rocco Baldelli, who spent time in the AL East as a coach with the Rays, remembers the unique challenges that Pineda presented to hitters before the right-hander underwent the procedure.
"He has the ability to spin the ball, and the ball has action on it in a different kind of way," Baldelli said. "He gets different kinds of swings from hitters. I don't know if it has to do with his size or his arm stroke or just the manipulation of the ball out front. But he has something a little bit different from what most people have."
"My goal is to be healthy and get some focus and be back, and be Michael Pineda, back like he used to be," Pineda said. "Be ready every five days, prepare for the season to help my team."
Gibson, Odorizzi to make spring debuts next week
Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi, both expected to slot into the Twins' Opening Day starting rotation, are slated to make their first Grapefruit League starts next week. Gibson will take the mound Monday at home against the Orioles, while Odorizzi will pitch Tuesday against the Rays.
Gibson's conditioning for the season got off to a slow start when his routine was disrupted in January as he dealt with a bout of E. coli, but he has participated in workouts throughout spring camp despite the Twins monitoring his health situation. According to Baldelli, Odorizzi's timing is largely in line with his standard spring routine.
"Some guys actually probably feel like they want or need more game action than anything else, but there are a lot of ways to get out there and get ready," Baldelli said. "There are other ways to go about it, where you can go comfortably get your work in and still prepare for the season."
Up next
Right-hander Kohl Stewart will make his third appearance of the spring when he and the Twins make the two-and-a-half-hour trip across Florida to West Palm Beach for a 12:05 p.m. CT game against the Nationals on Saturday. It will mark the third road trip in four days in a tough part of the schedule for the Twins, who also visited Clearwater and Port Charlotte on Wednesday and Thursday.