Duran ties his velo document, fights off boredom

MINNEAPOLIS — Apparently, Jhoan Duran wanted to really feel somewhat bit extra challenged, as a result of evidently throwing high-leverage ninth innings in opposition to the perfect hitters within the sport wasn’t fairly sufficient to totally fulfill him.

“When I throw one inning, I feel a little bit bored,” Duran stated.

It’s most likely simpler to ensure that Duran isn’t, nicely, bored when the Twins’ different high-leverage bullpen arms have struggled and he’s exhibiting that, even after cooling off on the bench between innings, he can come again out and match his personal hardest pitch thrown within the Majors this season, at 104.6 mph.

Duran did simply that as he recorded 5 outs to slam the door on the Guardians at Target Field on Friday, combining with Bailey Ober, Jovani Moran and Brock Stewart to clean the division rivals for his or her first 1-0 victory since June 23, 2022 — additionally in opposition to Cleveland.

“He’s just a rare breed,” Ober stated. “I don’t know, it’s amazing to watch. And every single time he’s out there, I think everyone in the stands and in our dugout is in awe of what he can do.”

Awe is the correct response when Duran can throw 14 pitches within the eighth inning to flee an inherited jam, then return for the ninth and, solely then, heave 104.6 mph and 104.5 mph fastballs on consecutive pitches to Cleveland heart fielder Myles Straw with two outs, matching his personal document for the very best velocity of the season.

Duran is the one pitcher to have thrown 104 mph or more durable this season — and he has now achieved it 5 instances.

“The first one he threw, I just started laughing,” Straw stated. “I mean, it’s 104. I looked up, and it felt every bit of it. I mean, it’s cool to see those kinds of things, though. You don’t really see that too often, so to see some talent like that and some velocity [like that] is pretty crazy.”

After the newly wholesome Jorge Polanco smacked an RBI double off the right-field wall within the seventh inning to interrupt a scoreless tie, a leadoff double by Steven Kwan within the eighth put the potential tying run on second with José Ramírez due up with one out.

At that time, everybody within the ballpark knew who would stroll out that bullpen door for the largest second of the sport — even earlier than the stadium lights went out, a sea of glowing cellular phone lights turned on and the dance music began to blare.

Perennial MVP candidate on the plate? No downside. Duran received to 0-2, tried to get Ramírez to chase a couple of curveballs because the depend ran full, then dropped the hammer with a splitter at 99.6 mph within the grime for the swinging strikeout.

“I know he’s a great hitter, but when I’m on the mound, I think I’m better than him,” Duran stated. “I attack the zone. When I get to two strikes, I strike him out then.”

It’s simply that straightforward when he also can do what he did subsequent following an intentional stroll to Josh Naylor — whipping 4 straight fastballs by Andrés Giménez at 103.6 mph, 103.6, 103.0 and, lastly, 103.8 on the letters.

“[Hitting coach Chris Valaika] said to me, ‘You got any suggestions?’” Guardians supervisor Terry Francona recounted. “I said, ‘I’m glad I’m not the hitting guy.’”

That erased the menace within the eighth, however that also left the matter of the ninth. At the beginning of this season, the Twins had been very cautious with their utilization of Duran, reserving him for one-inning stints with the lead — however with the current struggles of Griffin Jax and Jorge López, they’ve needed to stretch that. Now, 4 of Duran’s final seven appearances have spanned a number of innings.

Clearly, he’s not complaining. Duran was a starter within the Minors, and he nonetheless longs for these days — and his arm appears to have the ability to deal with it nicely.

So, he got here again out for the ninth, when he allowed a single to Straw however in any other case completed off an uneventful 26-pitch save, matching his personal document for hardest pitch in Twins historical past alongside the way in which.

Duran stated he works along with his private coach every single day with a concentrate on his flexibility and power to remain wholesome and, one way or the other, add much more velocity after he topped out at 103.8 mph final season.

He thinks he’s received 105 mph within the tank, too.

“I’m working for that,” Duran stated.