Duran enters break as rock of Twins' bullpen

MINNEAPOLIS -- The first time Jhoan Duran took the mound at Target Field, the rookie began his career by allowing a pair of line-drive singles and uncorking a wild pitch. That could have spiraled out of control for a 24-year-old in his first big league appearance.

Instead, it took him all of 11 pitches to wipe out the middle of the Seattle lineup, completely blowing his overwhelming stuff past Mitch Haniger, Eugenio Suárez and Jarred Kelenic to escape a scoreless fifth inning and add a much less eventful sixth.

Fast forward three months, and the young flamethrower who turned so many heads that day in April with the kind of raw stuff rarely -- if ever -- seen before in Twins Territory once again ran into traffic -- twice. And on a humid Saturday afternoon at Target Field, Duran dueled Tim Anderson for 10 pitches before he finally triumphed, securing a groundout and a 6-3 victory over the White Sox while capping off a stellar first half that has perhaps meant more to this team than anyone else on the roster.

“When the break is nearing, it's always tough, because you see that finish line right there, but it's not quite there, and your body might be a little broken down, you might be a little tired, but you still got to figure out a way to finish strong for your team,” Carlos Correa said. “What he did showed me a lot -- how much he cares not only about his stats, but also the team. He did that for the team.”

Duran, formerly the No. 5 prospect in the organization, was a true wild card when he showed up to Spring Training in March and was told he’d be converting to relief for the first time in his career. The Twins eased him into action in his first few appearances -- but very, very quickly, it became apparent that his stuff was special, and he was ready for the biggest moments. By May, he was throwing in the highest leverage situations.

And following his two-inning save on Saturday, his complete first-half numbers (he almost certainly won’t pitch on Sunday) speak for themselves: a 2.36 ERA in 33 appearances, with 51 strikeouts and eight walks in 42 innings.

“Of course [I’m proud] -- it was a really good first half,” Duran said. “Me personally, I don't concentrate on numbers. I just concentrate on the day by day and be healthy."

He won’t focus on the numbers, so we will. Duran owns a 0.98 WHIP, the 14th-best by any Twins pitcher to throw at least 40 innings in a first half in club history, and the best by any rookie. He is the third Twins pitcher ever to finish a first half with more than 50 strikeouts and single-digit walks, joining Joe Nathan and Taylor Rogers -- two of the most dominant closers in recent club history.

With the Twins’ bullpen as thin as it is, his ability to go multiple innings has also been critical in closing out tight wins, with his 42 innings pushing him into the top 10 of workloads among AL relievers.

And, oh, right -- he has also thrown 101 of the 103 hardest tracked pitches in Twins history – and that hasn’t come with any of the wildness often attributed to such hard throwers.

“He’s been magic,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “This is one of the best pitchers in baseball. That’s it. And he came from being a young guy with a good arm and good stuff and a really special pitch that he had that made him a little different, but that’s not what made his first half. He has progressed immensely. The strike-throwing. Being able to pitch in and out of the zone. He doesn’t pitch like just some guy with a good arm who throws 100 mph.”

There have been bumps in the road, but not many. He’s been hit around a little more in his recent outings, with three hits in his two innings on Saturday bringing him to 12 hits allowed in nine frames across his last seven appearances. The league seems to have adjusted to his velocity to an extent, but he has also continued to adapt, with his curveball emerging as a consistent weapon despite all the hoopla around his unique “splinker” pitch.

“He’s going to mix his pitches up, and he’s going to make life difficult for the opposition,” Baldelli said. “He’s going to adjust just like the league is adjusting to him, but he continues to find ways to get the job done.”

Keep in mind, too, that all of this has been new to him, a rookie who only threw 16 innings in Triple-A before assuming the role of fire-breathing bullpen ace. He thinks he’ll only continue to learn and grow from these experiences -- and he’s already starting from a stellar foundation.

“One of the mental things, I've already lost three games this first half of the season,” Duran said. “And I've never pitched in tight situations -- with two outs, bases loaded, I'm coming in against good hitters at this level. The pressure that you feel with fans. I've never played with so many fans and things like that. Those are aspects that I'm going to take away.”