CHICAGO — The Twins can take partial credit for a performance that was recognized with the American League Pitcher of the Month award on Wednesday. Which would be great if a Twin had won it.
But Sonny Gray, who allowed three runs in five April starts, and Joe Ryan, who won five consecutive games and never pitched fewer than six innings, were passed over. The award went instead to Yankees righthander Gerrit Cole, whose résumé included a two-hit, 10-strikeout shutout of the Twins in mid-April.
Not a big deal, said Gray, who won the award twice while with the A's in 2014, and Rocco Baldelli. "We're on to May," the Twins manager said. "Let's go win it."
Gray's statistics were nearly identical to Cole's, but the Yankees pitcher made six starts instead of Gray's five, and threw 5 ⅔ more innings. His ERA was 1.11, while Gray's was 0.77.
One thing that has made Gray's season go smoother: He and catcher Christian Vázquez have developed a good rapport, including their use of the PitchCom device, which has replaced traditional signals to call pitches. Vázquez calls each pitch, and Gray also carries a transmitter which he uses occasionally to overrule his catcher.
"I like the PitchCom. I didn't use it last year, but the transition was easy. We've got a good feel for it now," Gray said. "It's simplified the process of shaking off a pitch."
Hendriks cancer-free
Liam Hendriks wore the perfect T-shirt — STRUCK OUT CANCER, it read — to his news conference across from his old team's clubhouse on Wednesday.
The White Sox closer, diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in December, has completed an aggressive four-month program of chemotherapy and been declared cancer-free.
