Kirilloff's two-homer day could signal a turnaround

MINNEAPOLIS – After two years of frustration, two years of fits and starts, Alex Kirilloff's wrist may finally be feeling right.

The promising 25-year-old had seen his first two MLB seasons cut short by surgeries on his right wrist, a nagging injury that limited him to 59 games as a rookie and just 45 last season.

But on Saturday afternoon, Kirilloff hit solo home runs in each of his first two at-bats and tied a career-high with three hits to lead the Minnesota Twins past the Chicago Cubs, 11-1, before 32,270 fans at Target Field.

“It feels good,” Kirilloff said. “I felt like I was seeing the ball well all day and was able to put some good swings on some pitches. Swing feels good and [my] body feels good overall.”

Batting second as the designated hitter, Kirilloff took a four-seam fastball from Cubs starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski on the outside corner and drove it the other way, 382 feet over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season in the first inning.

Two innings later, Kirilloff hit his second, belting a 1-2 pitch 422 feet to straightaway center field. That blast immediately followed Joey Gallo's towering three-run bomb to the upper deck in right field, the fourth time the Twins have hit back-to-back home runs this season.

“[Kirilloff’s] obviously an amazing hitter,” Twins starter Joe Ryan said. “It was cool for him today. Three hits and the first time with three extra-base hits? It was just good to see him put the bat on the ball and have good results."

It was Kirilloff’s third career multi-homer game and his first since July 5, 2022, against the White Sox in Chicago.

“[Kirilloff] has a real ability to affect the game offensively,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s shown us that as a young player, he’s shown us that in the big leagues.

"Now, he’s here in a real nice spot -- feeling great, swinging the bat great. We stuck him up there close to the top of the lineup, and those are the types of at-bats and swings, they do a lot for a team.”

That he has the wrist strength to hit the ball out to left field and straightaway center field is a promising indication that his wrist is indeed stronger and healthier than it has been in some time. If Kirilloff is healthy, his bat could provide a critical boost to a Twins offense that has scuffled at times this season.

“I think he’s more than healthy right now,” Baldelli said. “The swings tell you everything you need to know. He’s the kind of guy that does use the whole field. When he’s actually going really good and feeling good, he hits the ball out to left and center field.”

Kirilloff’s pair of home runs were part of a five-dinger day for the Twins (Gallo, Jorge Polanco and Carlos Correa had the others). Minnesota has now hit 52 long balls this season, fourth in the AL and seventh in MLB.

A day after the Twins were held to just two runs on four hits, the offense broke out and tied its season-highs in total runs (11) and hits (13). For further context, the 11 runs they plated on Saturday were as many as they’d scored in the last three games combined.

Kirilloff, for his part, capped off his career day by lacing a double into the left-field corner for his third extra-base hit of the game.

“I was already confident in [the health of my wrist] coming into today, but today definitely solidifies things,” Kirilloff said. “Just happy with the process and how everything’s been going so far.”