MILWAUKEE — Jorge Polanco is expected to make his season debut Monday night when the Minnesota Twins open a two-game interleague series against the
Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
Polanco will be reinstated Monday from his 80-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs after going 6-for-13 in four games with Triple-A
Rochester.
He batted .256 with 13 home runs
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especially strong in the second half, slashing .293/.359/.511 with 10 homers and
43 RBIs.
That performance moved him into the No. 3 spot in the Twins’ lineup, but manager Paul Molitor said he probably won’t bat that high right away upon his
return.
“We know what he did last year when he had a chance to move up into a pretty important role,” Molitor told reporters Sunday in Chicago. “I don’t know we’ll
jump him up there that fast. For us to see him is going to be different than
hearing about him and reading about him and texting him and all those kinds of
things.
“We’ll see how it is. To be honest, coming up here and playing, even though he’s doing really well, it’s going to be a little different than what he’s been
doing.”
Right-hander Kyle Gibson (2-6) starts for Minnesota. He posted a 2.45 ERA through his first four June starts but saw that number grow to 3.35 after
allowing five runs in seven innings to the Chicago White Sox his last time
out.
Gibson struck out seven in the game and walked just one but gave up a season-high 11 hits.
“I went back and looked at some of the hits I gave up,” Gibson said. “I don’t know if I just picked the wrong pitch at the wrong time or what. I executed
quite a few pitches there, and they found holes.”
The Twins dropped a three-game weekend series to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and have lost eight of their last 10 overall.
Milwaukee struggled during the weekend, too, dropping the last two of a four-game series at Cincinnati. The Brewers managed just five total runs in
those losses while allowing 20, including a grand slam in each one.
“Two runs, three runs … You’re going to need more to win most games,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Despite that showing, the Brewers will return home still leading the National League Central by a half-game over the Cubs, who will be idle Monday.
Brent Suter (8-5) gets the nod in the series opener. He’ll be looking to get back on track after his three-game winning streak was snapped last week by the
Kansas City Royals.
Suter overcame a somewhat slow start to the season and has turned into a solid starter in the last two months. He’s 6-2 with a 3.50 ERA in his last eight
starts. Before his outing against Kansas
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previous seven games.
Part of Suter’s success can be attributed to his pace, which is among the game’s fastest. That makes it difficult for hitters to settle in between pitches
and, Suter admits, there can be a slight advantage to working quickly.
“I don’t want to quick-pitch people; I don’t do that,” he said. “But I want to keep the tempo up and let my fielders get back in and hit as quickly as
possible. That’s how I operate. If that gets them uncomfortable, that’s fine,
but I’m just in attack mode and up-tempo.”
Suter is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in two career starts against the Twins, both of which came at Target Field. He held them to a run and five hits while striking
out six in 5 2/3 innings on May 18.
Wade LeBlanc is a journeyman. His 10-year career has featured stops with seven different organizations and even one in
Japan, where he thought he was finished.
In the left-hander’s second stint with Seattle, it appears he’s finally found a home.
LeBlanc (4-0) allowed one run over seven innings after inking a contract extension with the Mariners earlier in the day, and Seattle beat the Los Angeles
Angels 4-1 on Tuesday night for its eighth straight victory.
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani was activated from the 10-day disabled list and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in his return. He had been sidelined since June
8 with a Grade 2 ulnar collateral ligament sprain.
“I think it was huge that I got all those at-bats in the simulated games,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. ”It’s a different game up here in the big
leagues. Maybe still not quite there yet, but just keep on working hard, come
back tomorrow.”
The Mariners announced they signed LeBlanc (4-0) to the extension before his start and the soft-tossing left-hander showed them they made a good decision.
LeBlanc allowed three hits, struck out four and retired his final 11
batters.
”It’s huge,” LeBlanc said. ”It’s life-changing money
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of guy to know where my family and I are going to be the next year this
early.”
LeBlanc’s contract reportedly extends him through the 2019 season, with a base salary of $2.75 million and incentives that could raise that to $4.75 next
season, and contains club options valued at $5 million with a $450,000 buyout
the three following seasons.
It rewards LeBlanc after he’s provided an unexpected source of stability to the Mariners’ rotation. Seattle is 9-3 in games he’s started and he boasts a
2.90 ERA since moving to the rotation on May 3.
”It’s good to feel wanted,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ”I know Wade’s been everywhere in his career, but we’re definitely seeing the best of
Wade LeBlanc right now. I’m looking forward to having him in the future. He’s
done an unbelievable job for us.
”The best part about these deals with a guy like that that’s bounced around, is that he’s earned it. And that’s really what makes you feel good and allows
you to sleep at night.”
LeBlanc was signed by the Mariners in spring training after he requested his release from the Yankees, who signed him to a minor league contract.
Alex Colome picked LeBlanc up by stranding Kole Calhoun after his one-out double in the eighth and Edwin Diaz earned his American League-leading 33rd save
with a clean ninth inning.
Kyle Seager was 2 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded double in the first. Nelson Cruz provided insurance with a solo homer in the
eighth.
Andrew Heaney (4-6) tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, but was tagged with three runs in the first inning to fall behind and was handed the loss.
“Andrew was terrific tonight,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ”The walks were probably the one negative for him in the first inning.
”He pitched a great game, gave us a chance to win. We just couldn’t get any kind of pressure offensively.”
Andrelton Simmons’ homer in the fourth was all the Angels could muster offensively.
300 CLUB
Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon stole third base in the eighth inning to put him at 300 career stolen bases.
TRAINER’S ROOM
ANGELS: Angels outfielder Chris Young exited in the first inning with a left hamstring strain, the club announced. Young stumbled to the ground while
fielding Seager’s double to right field and fell to the ground in noticeable
pain, staying there until leaving the game with trainers.
MARINERS: Servais said Erasmo Ramirez’s bullpen on Sunday went well and the right-hander will move on with his throwing program.
UP NEXT
ANGELS: RHP Garrett Richards (4-4) will be activated from the 10-day disabled list and start against the Mariners on Wednesday. He’s been out since June 14
with a left hamstring sprain.
MARINERS: RHP Mike Leake (8-4) will make his 18th start of the season and third against the Angels on Wednesday. The 30-year-old has lasted seven-plus
innings seven times this season and boasted a 2.57 ERA in June.
