Alcala talks hot start to Aug.; Twins' 1B plans

HOUSTON -- Jorge Alcala insists there isn't any extra energy in his right arm as he faces the organization that traded him away, but he certainly seems to have brought his best stuff to Houston this weekend.

Following a tough July, in which Alcala posted a 7.84 ERA through 10 appearances, the 26-year-old right-hander dazzled, posting scoreless innings in each of the first two games of this four-game series against the Astros, with four strikeouts across the two perfect frames.

"The last two nights have been exciting to go out there and compete against them and show them that I am here, that I'm on this level, and I want to keep working hard," Alcala said through club interpreter Elvis Martinez.

The right-hander, who arrived in the Ryan Pressly trade of 2018, has experienced a careful transition into higher-leverage bullpen situations since he debuted at the end of the '19 season, and he's now off to a strong start in the best opportunity yet to prove himself as part of the Twins' depleted leverage relief corps.

With Hansel Robles traded to Boston and Taylor Rogers possibly out for the season with a right middle finger sprain, Alcala will have to step in alongside Tyler Duffey and Alex Colomé as the late-and-close core of that group. It's an opportunity he's awaited for some time after spending much of 2020 and early '21 pitching with the club either up big or trailing.

"I'm just really grateful they are giving me the opportunity to come out and compete in the seventh, eighth innings," Alcala said. "And the trust of the coaching staff and the manager to come out and do my job. That's what I'm trying to do, take it one day at a time."

Think he's excited for that? Alcala hurled a fastball at 100.9 mph to strike out Jason Castro on Thursday, marking the Twins' hardest pitch of the season. He's topped 100 mph four times in his two appearances this series. No other Twins pitcher has reached triple digits this season.

"It's not necessarily the easiest thing when you're asking guys to do things they haven't really done a ton of before," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "One, we don't have much of a choice on some nights, to push guys into certain situations, so we're going to embrace it. We're going to actually make the most of these opportunities."

Significantly, three of his four strikeouts in the last two games have come against left-handed hitters, who have crushed Alcala throughout his career to pronounced platoon splits. His continued work on the changeup to neutralize those lefties will go a long way in helping him take advantage of this high-leverage role that has now seen him protect two leads in two days -- and so far, so good.

"Honestly, he kind of got rushed up here," Duffey said. "I think he was a callup in September of '19, and then COVID happened, and he was in the big leagues. There wasn't a lot of room for development. He's gotten tempered by the fire this season. It's a blessing for him to be able to learn here. You're seeing him come into his own, and he locked it in."

Rooker likely not an option at first base

Though Brent Rooker saw a good amount of action at first base in the low Minors, the Twins don't necessarily see him as a primary option at the position in the big leagues, Baldelli said Saturday.

That much became clear in the 11th inning of Friday's 5-4 win over the Astros, when the Twins moved catcher Mitch Garver to first base and dug into their bench to put Ryan Jeffers at catcher instead of simply moving Rooker from the outfield to first base, which would have allowed Jeffers to stay out of the game.

"We talked to Rook about being available and mentally prepared to go to first base if necessary, but to be very honest, not going to happen very often," Baldelli said. "He's not going to be our first or second or even third option to go to first base."

Those first, second and third options, then, will likely remain Miguel Sanó, Willians Astudillo and Garver, now that rookie outfielder and first baseman Alex Kirilloff is out for the year due to a surgical procedure to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist. Baldelli had also noted late last month that the Twins also approached Luis Arraez about playing some first base as well.

Rooker has exclusively played outfield and at designated hitter in the Majors, with only one Triple-A appearance at first base earlier this season.

Gant to remain in bullpen with Twins

New trade acquisition John Gant insists that he still thinks of himself as a starting pitcher and hopes to find some opportunities to start with his new organization, but Baldelli indicated that the Twins don't yet have any plans to move him into such a role.

Gant was acquired from the Cardinals at last Friday's Trade Deadline in a deal that sent J.A. Happ to St. Louis. Following the departures of Happ and José Berríos, the Twins have given most of those starting opportunities to rookies Griffin Jax and Charlie Barnes, with top prospect acquisitions Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman likely to follow.

"We never know what’s going to happen in this game, so I don’t like to rule anything out, but we’re going to get [Gant] settled in in the bullpen and try to get the best innings out of him as we possibly can and start there," Baldelli said.

The 29-year-old Gant began the season in the St. Louis rotation and made 14 starts but has exclusively pitched out of the bullpen since June 28. The only other time he started consistently in the Majors was in 2018, when 19 of his 26 appearances were starts.

"I think of myself as a starting pitcher," Gant said. "I'd really like that opportunity to prove myself."