Twins bullpen racking up the innings

HOUSTON -- The Twins' bullpen put in six innings of work in Tuesday's 12-inning marathon, and in doing so, it surpassed the Toronto Blue Jays (477 1/3) for the league lead in relief innings with 477 2/3.

Six relievers paraded to the mound. Caleb Thielbar picked up the win with two innings of scoreless relief. Only Anthony Swarzak and Ryan Pressly did not see action.

"From early in the season, our biggest thing here that we worried about was blowing up our bullpen, burning them out because they were pitching so well," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Going into Wednesday's finale vs. the Astros, the Twins' bullpen had compiled a 3.11 ERA, fifth best in baseball.

"Because we've had a lot of guys throwing really well out of the bullpen, we've been able to mix and match as best we can," Gardenhire said. "But they've thrown a lot of innings, all of them."