MINNEAPOLIS _ From the first pitch, Jake Odorizzi was an effective pitcher Tuesday. That seems to be critical for the right-hander.
By focusing on the first pitch of each at-bat, Odorizzi turned in one of his strongest performances of the season, pitching into the sixth inning and turning over a one-run lead to the bullpen. Miguel Sano homered in the eighth to make it a 5-2 win. It's Minnesota's 15th victory in their past 19 games in Target Field.
Odorizzi, scuffling along with a 4.50 ERA in his first season with the Twins, had been victimized for much of the season by first-pitch aggressiveness. When opponents put the first pitch in play, they hit .489 against Odorizzi this season. The solution: Keep them from putting the pitch in play. Clearly aware of that tendency, 12 Pirates swung at the first pitch Tuesday _ and none collected a hit. Seven fouled pitches off, four swung and missed, and only Sterling Marte managed to involve the defense, hitting a fly ball that Eddie Rosario caught in the first inning.
The rest of the time, Odorizzi mostly mastered the National League lineup. He had one hiccup in the second inning, when David Freese singled, Josh Bell walked and Francisco Cervelli doubled, scoring Freese with the game's first run. Bell scored on a groundout, but that was it for Pittsburgh's offense against the 28-year-old right-hander.
Odorizzi retired 12 consecutive hitters, finally departing with two outs in the sixth inning when back-to-back singles pushed his pitch count to 100. Still, 67 of them were strikes, his third-highest total of the season. Tyler Duffey relieved Odorizzi and retired all four hitters he faced.
The Twins weren't much better against Pirates' starter Jameson Taillon, however. The right-hander retired the first nine hitters he faced, before the Twins offense finally erupted. Minnesota piled up five hits in the fourth inning, which is more impressive when you realize that matched their total from the previous 15 innings combined.
Joe Mauer got the rally started with a line single to left, and Eddie Rosario followed with a double into the right-field corner. Jorge Polanco drove them both in with a single to right, Rosario first slowing at third base and then racing home when Gregory Polanco seemed to believe he would stop. Rosario slid home ahead of Polanco's throw.
After two outs and a Max Kepler single, Jake Cave broke the tie by lining a single to center, bringing Polanco home.
The start was Odorizzi's second against the Pirates; he faced them in Pittsburgh back on April 4, giving up three runs over 41/3 innings. The difference in lineups Tuesday was a stark reminder of the Twins' midseason makeover.
Eight of Pittsburgh's nine hitters played in that April game, and the ninth, Jordy Mercer, was available on the bench. But the Twins? That team is just a long-ago memory. Only three starters _Rosario, Sano and Kepler _ played that day in Pittsburgh. Four Twins in the lineup weren't even on the Twins' roster in April. Matter of fact, two of Paul Molitor's three bench players weren't on that team, and five of the eight members of the bullpen.
That's baseball in the era of roster turnover; these days, it's the Pirates who are unusual. Pittsburgh has used 42 players this season, and while that may sound like a lot, actually only the Rockies and Astros have used fewer. The Twins have issued 49 different uniforms.
