Twins' Lewis Thorpe performs according to game plan in MLB debut

CHICAGO – Say this for Lewis Thorpe: The rookie knows how to follow advice.

The Twins lefthander may have been drowning in the thrill and emotion of his big-league debut Sunday, but he still remembered to act upon his coaches' instructions when he was on the mound. Throw strikes, he was told. Get ahead of hitters.

"They told me, 'Just throw it over the plate and everything will pan out,' " he said after the 4-3 loss to the White Sox. "I did that. I was a little shaky, but 0-2 is what they taught me. Get ahead and you'll get swings and misses."

Thorpe zeroed in on the strike zone like a pitching machine, getting two quick strikes on nine of the first 13 hitters he faced. Which is why his five-inning, rain-shortened start included seven strikeouts, one short of Boof Bonser's team record for a debut.

"He was locked in and throwing the ball very well. He was commanding the ball. He was throwing all of his pitches for strikes when he wanted it," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He attacked early in the count. Getting ahead of all these hitters was what led to the great start he had."

Baldelli had one more message for Thorpe after the game, too: Goodbye. The rookie was sent back to Class AAA Rochester, with another pitcher, this time a reliever, expected to be summoned for Tuesday's game at Oakland.

Not that it mattered to Thorpe, still euphoric after the game.

"I always knew it was going to be one start. I got my taste, and it was great," the 23-year-old Australian said. "I'm just happy with how it went."

He will be able to share the memory with his parents, Ross and Lyn, who rushed to Chicago from Melbourne when he was called up. They waited patiently outside the clubhouse after the game, not knowing whether to book flights to Oakland, where the Twins are headed, or Rochester, N.Y., where the Red Wings are on a homestand, or who knows where else.

"Them flying out and surprising me was awesome, and them getting to see my first start in the show was just a dream come true," Thorpe said.

Right up there with actually pitching, he added.

"I'd felt nothing like that ever before. As soon as the first guy [Leury Garcia] swung and I saw the ball going into the outfield, that's when I sort of calmed down. I was like, 'I'm here," he said. "But the adrenaline is something else."

Marwin Gonzalez, who has played 20 games in the outfield this season, started at third base Sunday, while infielder Luis Arraez, who before this week hadn't played the outfield since rookie ball in 2015, was in left field, and Ehire Adrianza, another utility infielder, was in right. Why the odd alignment?

To protect Gonzalez's recently healed right hamstring, Baldelli said.

"Any guy who is just coming off of an [injured list] stint with a muscle injury, the last thing you want to do is have them on their feet, running around. Outfielders run significantly more than anybody else on the field," Baldelli said. "It sounds obvious, but not putting him in the outfield on back-to-back days probably makes sense."

There are a lot of questions about which Twins should be All-Stars. Baldelli said he wants to be one, too — but maybe not this year.

See, the manager of the defending AL Champions — Boston's Alex Cora this year — gets to be in the All-Star dugout the following July.

"Regardless of whether that's ever in the cards, I hope it is for us, because that means we're winning," said Baldelli, adding that Cora had not asked him to serve as a coach. "I'm sure that Alex and his staff are going to have a great time. It's a well-earned honor."

So how is he going to spend the break?

"Me and my girlfriend [Allie Genoa] are flying home, and we're going to spend a little time with our families in Rhode Island," he said. "And I'm going to a Phish concert."

The Twins, already looking ahead to how their pitching rotation will line up after the All-Star break, will push back Martin Perez's next start in order to move up Jose Berrios'. That means Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson and Berrios will start this week at Oakland.