A season that began with a pile of bullpen questions has produced one clear answer for the Twins: Andrew Morris.
The rookie has carved out one of Minnesota’s eight relief spots and, lately, he’s done a lot more than just occupy it. Since June 12, opponents haven’t scored against him in 15 outings. Over those 17 innings, Morris has allowed only six hits and three walks while striking out 17.
He put a fitting cap on that stretch Sunday, working two scoreless innings in Minnesota’s 4-2 win over the Angels and touching 100 MPH. And for Morris, the recent surge hasn’t come from reinventing himself. It’s been about settling into a role that finally feels steady.
“It’s starting to feel normal for sure,” Morris said. “It’s building confidence along the way.
I feel like every day I’m still learning something. Getting to learn from all these guys.”
Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers has seen the growth up close.
“When I caught him in spring training picking up a spot start, did I expect him to be throwing 100 out of our bullpen? Absolutely not,” said Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers.
“But it’s really cool to see. He’s an absolute bulldog.”
Morris didn’t even reach the majors until three weeks into the season, but he’s stayed put ever since. He’s now fourth on the club with 35 appearances, and he’s about to pass Eric Orze, who was optioned to Triple-A on Saturday after appearing in 36 games, and Anthony Banda, who is out for the season after left lat strain surgery. He’s also just five outings behind Taylor Rodgers, the team leader, and could finish the year as Minnesota’s top relief arm in appearances.
That would be a notable milestone. A Twins rookie hasn’t led the team in relief appearances since 2005, when Jesse Crain made 75 appearances alongside Juan Rincon out of the bullpen.
“Early in the season, I think it was a situation where he just didn’t have major league reps,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said of his rookie reliever. “The more reps he gets, the better we are. I give him a ton of credit.”
Jeffers sees the same thing when Morris takes the ball.
“When he’s on the mound - guys have started to grab ahold of identities, and he’s one of those guys that you want that guy on the mound,” said Jeffers, “That’s one of those guys.”
Lately, Morris has been asked to do a little more than the standard one-inning burst. He had gone a month without working more than two innings before getting that kind of assignment again against the Royals on June 4. Then, in the series against the Angels, he handled two innings in both of his outings, including Sunday’s finish.
That usage mattered because the Twins were managing the back end of games carefully. They lost 4-3 on Friday night and Shelton used Morris for an extra inning rather than turning to closer Yoendrys Gómez. With Gómez having gotten up and sat back down too often that night, Shelton kept him out of Saturday and Sunday’s wins, leaving Morris to close again.
“He threw two innings the other night, came back out, and was able to finish tonight,” said Shelton. “We were not going to use Gomez today. For [Morris] to be able to finish it, I thought, was really important.”
Morris said the ninth inning still isn’t simple, even if he’s making it look that way.
“I don’t think it’s ever easy to do it in the ninth,” Morris said. “Props to Gómey for doing that a lot and really good. It’s never easy, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Minnesota heads into the break at 48-49, tied with the Mariners for the third American League Wild Card. The bullpen remains an area the club wants to strengthen behind Gómez and Morris, and the front office already made one move Friday by acquiring Tommy Nance from the Blue Jays.
There’s also a path for the Twins to put themselves in a stronger buying position before the trade deadline. If they can go at least 9-7 in their next 16 games, they’ll be at least two games over .500.
And if Morris keeps pitching like this when the second half opens in Chicago, the Twins may end up with exactly the kind of bullpen answer they’ve been searching for.
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