Duran gives up walk-off slam on 101.8 mph fastball

KANSAS CITY -- The pitch was 101.8 mph, off the plate, in on the hands.

And somehow, Bobby Witt Jr. got all of it.

With that improbable swing off Jhoan Duran that sent a walk-off grand slam soaring into the muggy Kansas City night, the Royals erased an equally improbable comeback story written by the newly healthy Jorge Polanco and the Twins, sending Minnesota to an 8-5 defeat in a roller-coaster 10 innings on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

“You just don’t really expect a guy to turn around 102 [mph],” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I guess guys with that quick [of] hands might have a little better chance. But you’ve got to tip the hat there.”

Most of the credit there is due to Witt’s “close-to-impossible swing,” as described by manager Rocco Baldelli, considering it’s the hardest pitch outside the strike zone that has been hit for a homer in the Statcast era (since 2015).

Whatever the case, it continued a tough July for one of the game’s elite relievers. Duran has allowed seven earned runs in 9 2/3 innings across 10 appearances this month, equivalent to a 6.52 ERA. Hitters are 13-for-40 (.325) off Duran this month, during which he has been dealt three losses.

But Friday’s loss, no matter how tough in the moment, wasn’t exactly in the same mold of what’s been getting to the Twins’ bullpen ace this month -- and that’s why the Twins’ faith in Duran holds firm.

“Little something different every time,” Jeffers said. “Today, it’s just, you can’t walk people in extras. I wouldn’t say it was anything we put a finger on where you start to worry at all. Every pitcher goes through these little stretches where today, it’s one thing, another day, it’s another. It’ll all come back and click together.”

The issue was simple on Friday: Normally a reliable and consistent strike-thrower, Duran just couldn’t find the zone.

It’s difficult to know why because Duran declined comment after the game, but he only threw 12 of his 25 pitches for strikes after he entered a tie game in the 10th inning, with the Twins only having gotten that far because Polanco cracked a two-run, game-tying single with two outs in the ninth inning in his first game off a seven-week stint on the injured list.

After Kyle Farmer’s two-out RBI knock scored the automatic runner in the 10th inning to spot the Twins a 5-4 lead, Duran struck out leadoff hitter Drew Waters but fell into three-ball counts against each of the next three hitters, unable to throw his offspeed pitches close to the zone.

Duran’s walks to Nicky Lopez and Maikel García marked only his second frame issuing multiple free passes this season, and by the time Witt worked a full count with the bases loaded, it was clear that Duran would need to throw a fastball to avoid walking in the tying run -- and Witt was ready for it.

“[If] he's ahead, then he can do a lot of different things once he's ahead,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But working behind and maybe evening up the count, then getting behind again, it's very difficult even when you have stuff like Duran does.”

Though pitching coach Pete Maki said that Duran has been working to refine the shape of his curveball, which missed the zone all but one time on Friday, walks haven’t been Duran’s issue at all, as he’d only issued one free pass in 9 1/3 innings through his July struggles entering Friday.

Instead, he’s allowed at least one hit in nine of his 10 appearances this month -- none of which had been a homer -- and considering Duran’s batted ball metrics and expected statistics based on the quality of contact against him remain among the very best in the game, it’s tough for Maki to think this will continue.

"I'm not worried about him getting hit,” Maki said. “That's not going to be a sustainable thing where he's giving up hard contact. The thing to address is free passes. It's not like him. He's traditionally been a great strike-thrower. Just a little blip on the radar.”

Even the elite closers have off nights with their control, and one of the game’s brightest young stars took advantage.

“He just got behind tonight,” Maki said. “You get into three-ball counts, get behind hitters, it doesn't matter how good you are when you get into behind counts. It matters a lot less. That's all that happened today.”