Twins rookie Edouard Julien likely to see more time at first base in final five weeks

MILWAUKEE – Edouard Julien played an inning at first base Tuesday after entering as a pinch hitter, and he will likely see more time at the position over the final five weeks of the season.

Julien, who made 53 starts at second base and 10 starts as a designated hitter this year for the Twins, played 181 innings at first base at Class A in 2021.

"Getting him over there in a big league game and feeling it out, I think, is important," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "At some point we might do the same thing again and at some point along the way, he's going to probably end up getting a little time over there starting games and playing."

Baldelli had a meeting with Julien in his office within the past week about seeing more time at first base, particularly whenever Byron Buxton returns from the 10-day injured list and receives the bulk of his starts as the DH. First baseman Alex Kirilloff (shoulder) remains sidelined.

The Twins want to keep Julien, Royce Lewis and Jorge Polanco as regular starters, and they'll need to be creative when they can't stick one of them at DH. Lewis will remain at third base and may occasionally spell Carlos Correa at shortstop, while Polanco will split his time between second base and third base.

"I'm going to need a couple games to get acclimated, but I feel pretty good," Julien said. "I don't think it's the hardest position. I say that now and I'll probably regret it."

Julien estimated he took ground balls at first base during practice two or three times with infield coach Tony Diaz before he played the position in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday. He admitted it was "a little weird" looking at the defensive positioning card from the perspective of a first baseman.

"I'm aware that we need to have all these hitters in the lineup to be able to win games, but we have other options, too, at first base," said Julien, who has his own first baseman mitt from the minor leagues, but he borrowed Donovan Solano's mitt Tuesday. "I see a lot of guys here that could play there but if they need me for a couple games, I'll be ready."

The Twins announced Bailey Ober will start Sunday against the Rangers, so he will pitch on regular rest for his next turn through the rotation.

Saturday's starter has not been announced, but it will likely be Joe Ryan returning from the 15-day injured list. Lefthander Dallas Keuchel could be used as a piggyback starter over the weekend, or perhaps start against the Guardians next week.

The Twins haven't ruled out using Louie Varland as a reliever in September, but there are no imminent plans to move him to the Class AAA bullpen.

Varland, who has a 1.82 ERA in his last five starts with 26 strikeouts and 11 walks in 29⅔ innings, typically throws his fastball around 95 mph, and that could increase if he pitched in one-inning or two-inning stints.

The Twins, like all teams, value starting depth, but Varland is currently positioned as the No. 7 starter in the organization. He allowed seven runs (four earned) in his four-inning start Tuesday in Omaha.

"I don't know if we are going to be doing that," Baldelli said, "but anything is possible at this time of the year."

• The Twins didn't have a TV broadcast available at the start of Wednesday's game because American Family Field lost power in the TV truck compound for 15-20 minutes, which also took down the replay review system. Power was restored to the TV trucks at 1:20 p.m.

• Oliver Ortega, who left Tuesday's game because of lower back tightness after spiking a slider in the dirt, will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Minnesota. "The muscle spasm is still there," Baldelli said Wednesday.

• It was 97 degrees at first pitch Wednesday, the third-highest temperature in American Family Field's 23-year history. The only two games that had a higher temperature at first pitch were on July 4-5, 2012 (100 and 101 degrees). The "feels like" temperature during the game was as high as 112 degrees.

• Kyle Garlick set a career high and tied a franchise high with five hits, and Patrick Murphy struck out nine and gave up two runs in five innings of relief as the St. Paul Saints beat the Omaha Storm Chasers 6-4 on the second night of a six-game road trip.