Twins pitchers begin a turnaround after struggling with walks to start the season

Taped on the wall at the front of the Twins’ spring training clubhouse were daily schedules, the lineup card and a pitching leaderboard for fewest pitches thrown in an inning that was split up between starters and relievers.

Twins pitching coaches preach attacking the strike zone. Quicker innings mean starting pitchers will last deeper into games. The Twins had the third-lowest walk rate in the majors last year and the fourth-lowest walk rate in 2023.

That’s why it was bizarre to see the Twins struggle with walks to begin the season. In their first four games, when the team started with a 0-4 record, Twins pitchers walked 17 batters in 32 innings.

It was a topic during pregame meetings, and Twins pitchers responded this week with only two walks over their last 27 innings.

“That’s part of our identity,” Pablo López said. “Just challenge, attack, put yourself in good counts. We understand the numbers and the odds. It’s hard to hit a baseball. You throw it down the middle, and there is a 60% chance of an out.”

When the Twins faced the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, they had trouble forcing hitters to chase pitches out of the strike zone. Perhaps it was part of a spring training carryover effect when pitchers rarely use scouting reports because they don’t know which hitters will travel and be in the lineup.

“I’m guilty of this too, I know the report, so I try to stick to them as much as I can and then you find yourself nibbling a little bit because you might be pitching to their weakness, which can also be your weakness,” López said. “Information is good but not taking all of it or overanalyzing. My strengths are my strengths. The report isn’t going to change who I am. Maybe we were guilty of that in the first two series of the year.”

When Rocco Baldelli was a rookie manager with no experience in the role, he had the good fortune to have Nelson Cruz in his clubhouse.

“It was like having an uncle who also happened to be one of the five best hitters in the world,” Baldelli said Thursday, shortly before Cruz threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

As a show of his great respect for the now-retired slugger, Baldelli even grabbed a mitt and served as Cruz’s catcher.

It didn’t go well; Cruz’s pitch bounced as it reached the plate, then off Baldelli’s chest. “I couldn’t pick it up for Nellie,” Baldelli said.

But he made it clear how much he appreciated Cruz’s 2½-year tenure as the Twins’ designated hitter.

“There’s a lot to look towards when you look towards Nelson Cruz’s locker. You’re not just looking for the designated hitter, you’re looking for someone that’s going to show you the way, that’s going to do it the right way. And lead, and set a great example,” Baldellii said. “He was all of that for us and more. You feel a lot of emotion when you think about Nelson Cruz.”

The Twins brought three relievers out of the bullpen in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Houston Astros — Louie Varland, Jorge Alcala and Darren McCaughan — and the first two righthanders were throwing 99-mph fastballs.

McCaughan, mostly a starter throughout his career, topped out at 91.6 mph. Astros hitters had a tough time against him, striking out four times as he tossed two scoreless innings in his second appearance with the Twins.

“I think having something different is good,” said McCaughan, 29, who signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December. “If it’s throwing a little slower than everybody else nowadays, sure, I’ll take it.”

McCaughan was slated to start in the Class AAA rotation before he replaced Randy Dobnak in the Twins’ bullpen as their long reliever. He’s struck out six across 4⅔ scoreless innings this year.

“I added a cutter this offseason,” McCaughan said. “I can just tell the swings have gotten a little bit more indecisive. I think my slider is playing well off it.”

McCaughan struck out Jose Altuve in the ninth inning on a cutter for a called third strike. It was the first time in Altuve’s 15-year career that he struck out five times in a game, and the announced Target Field crowd of 36,783 was energized for it. McCaughan said it was the first time he couldn’t hear the PitchCom device in his ear.

Why add a cutter?

“Honestly, as soon as I signed here, the first conversation that I had with them was ‘We think a cutter could really help you out,‘” McCaughan said. “I was like, ‘Let’s try it.’ I’ve always thought about using it, but I just never really had an [organization] or someone tell me that it could be useful.”

McCaughan worked on his cutter for about six weeks during the offseason, but it wasn’t a pitch he really felt comfortable throwing until spring training.

“I didn’t really think I was getting anywhere with it,” McCaughan said. “The first day in camp, they were like, ‘How has the cutter been going?’ I’m like, ‘Honestly, not very good.’ One of the pitching coaches was like, ‘Dude, fine, let’s keep throwing it and keep working on it.’ He gave me a couple cues to work on that day. Honestly, those clicked, and I just rode with it.”

 · The St. Paul Saints were rained out Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. They’re scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday.