Ready for a jam: Duran proves he can handle pressure

MILWAUKEE -- The Twins got one bases-loaded escape from their bullpen -- but they didn’t quite have enough firepower for a second, and it cost them the game.

As the Twins watched Luis Urías loft a walk-off sacrifice fly down the right-field line off Tyler Duffey in the ninth inning on Tuesday to send Minnesota to a 7-6 loss, it served as yet another reminder that the club’s lack of bullpen depth will be a priority to be addressed by next Tuesday’s Trade Deadline. They’ve long known that already.

They also know that, regardless of any additions they make in the next seven days, their path to closing out games will involve rookie Jhoan Duran in the featuring role -- and as important as it will be for the Twins to find outside relief help, they’ll also need to make darn sure that the inexperienced 24-year-old is battle-tested and unfazed in the biggest moments, because those moments will belong to him through the end of the season and, they hope, into October.

Lessons like Tuesday’s eighth-inning escape will contribute to that.

“The pressure’s always going to be there,” Duran said through interpreter Elvis Martinez. “You just have to learn how to deal with it, and I’m learning that. I think this is a process.”

On Tuesday, he was summoned for the eighth inning of a tie game against a tough opponent in a rivalry-energized road environment -- and as has happened more often of late as the league has adapted to his stuff, Duran ran into trouble.

Urías knocked a one-out single up the middle, Omar Narváez followed with a walk and, after a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Duran engaged in a seven-pitch battle with Christian Yelich, getting ahead 0-2 before eventually succumbing to a walk, marking the first time in 35 big league appearances in which he’d issued multiple free passes.

He battled Willy Adames with the bases loaded, the tying run 90 feet from home plate, and the crowd of 28,596 at its feet. He fell behind 2-0, then fought back to 2-2. A fastball missed way up, filling the count as he and catcher Gary Sánchez worked through PitchCom issues due to the crowd noise.

But with his payoff pitch, the rookie dropped in a perfect curveball for strike three, freezing Adames and getting the call despite a cross-up that led to a tough frame job by Sánchez. Duran will remember how he came through and build on that.

“A lot of confidence,” Duran said. “I like when we are the visiting team. Everybody’s betting against you, the fans yelling at you. When you get out of jams like that, it’s a good confidence builder. It builds my confidence.”

Duran had only been a starter in the Minors and learned that he was moving to the bullpen when he arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., for camp earlier this spring. He’d only thrown 16 competitive innings last season due to elbow troubles. He was never in these pressure situations. But quickly, he’s learning at the game’s highest level, against the game’s best hitters.

“You forget how young he is and how little time he's spent in the big leagues,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Those are the types of situations where he's going to be out there. He's going to have chances to win the game for us by getting through innings like that.

“It's more than just physical ability. You have to be very, very tough mentally to get through those situations, and he fought and he won that inning."

As the Twins burned through Griffin Jax and Duran in the seventh and eighth innings, they watched the Brewers line up Brad Boxberger, Devin Williams and Josh Hader for the final three frames, with Williams throwing his 28th consecutive scoreless appearance and Hader looking much more like his typical unhittable self after a tough run through mid-July.

The Twins want to get to that point of confidence with their back-end corps, too. Trades could help. Duran’s growth will also be critical -- and he’s growing before their eyes.

“[The Brewers] bank on winning games like that,” Baldelli said. “We need to do the same. We need to find ways to win games like that, too. We have. But I'd like to make it our calling card, as well, and be able to go out there and just hold the opposition to basically zero late in the game and win. I think we can go down that road."