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Twins fall to Tigers as Dylan Bundy concludes season

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·4 min read
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DETROIT — Dylan Bundy prides himself on his durability — and if not for a bout of COVID-19 that sent him to the injured list for part of May — the veteran would have hit his goal of 30 or more starts.

But amid a season in which the Twins’ roster was wracked by injuries, Bundy was a constant in the Twins’ rotation.

His season wrapped up on Saturday night in a familiar way — by doing his part to keep his team in the game long enough to turn the game over to the bullpen. The Twins fell 3-2 to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, thanks in part to some shaky defense, not Bundy’s efforts over the course of his five-inning start.

“He kept us in the game. There were some moments where he probably wasn’t happy with what he was doing, but he just keeps pitching, keeps trying to do whatever he has to do next to get an out. He finds different ways to do it,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s what you’re hoping for, to get five good innings from him.”

The Twins brought in Bundy this offseason on a one-year, $4 million deal with a buyout for $1 million or an $11 million club option. Saturday’s start is expected to be Bundy’s last as a Twin, as they are unlikely to pick up his option.

“Staying healthy, being there for my teammates, that’s my biggest goal every single year,” Bundy said. “I don’t do ERA or innings or stuff like that, because some of that’s out of your control. But I’ve got to get better. I’ve got a lot more to get better.”

Bundy finished his season with a 4.89 earned-run average over the course of his team-leading 29 starts. In 19 of his 29 starts, Saturday included, he gave up three or fewer runs. Many lasted five innings or just around that mark as he was often pulled, despite a low pitch count, before having a chance to face the opponent’s lineup a third time through.

Bundy gave up two runs on Saturday. One came in the first inning after giving up a single to Riley Greene that got past right fielder Matt Wallner, allowing him to advance all the way to third, and he would eventually score. Another came on a solo home run to Eric Haase in the fourth.

Bundy, as he did in his last start, made way for rookie Ronny Henriquez, who tossed three innings. The only run Henriquez gave up, an unearned run, came after a throw from Luis Arraez ticked off his glove, allowing Javier Báez to score what would prove to be the game-winning run.

The outing also served as likely the last chance to look at Henriquez, who made three major league appearances after debuting in September.

“Ronny settled into that outing really nicely. I’ve been very pleased with his composure. I’ve been very pleased with the way that he uses all of his pitches,” Baldelli said. “With a young pitcher, a lot of times they’ll get into an outing and one of their pitches might not feel great and just kind of completely avoid it. But he doesn’t do that.”

While the Twins had their chances, particularly in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with just one out, they finished the day 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

The Twins scored both of their runs in the fifth inning, tying the game with a Mark Contreras home run and a Gio Urshela RBI single.

Arraez, who is leading the AL batting race ever so slightly over New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, had two hits in the loss, which was the Twins’ 81st of the season. With it, they ensured that a season that started out so promising will finish no better than .500.

“Finishing .500, you look up, it’s right in front of you because there are standings,” Baldelli said. “All these games still count, and I wouldn’t have minded that. But we have things that are more important now than finishing a couple of games above or below .500. We have work to do, and we know that.”

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