Phil Hughes first Twins pitcher to strike out 10 in more than two years
It's a high-strikeout era, but someone forgot to tell the Twins that.
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press notes, Twins right-hander Phil Hughes made a bit of unexpected, low-grade history during Saturday's loss to the White Sox (CHW 5, MIN 1): He became the first Twins pitcher to strike out 10 or more batters in a span of 379 games. The last to pull it off? Francisco Liriano on July 12, 2012. For comparison's sake, the Rays, whose staff leads MLB in strikeouts this season, have had 14 pitchers K 10 or more batters in a game this year alone.
That's ... something. We're in the highest strikeout era in baseball history right now, and double-digit Ks have become somewhat pedestrian. As noted in the recent R.I.P. piece on the 2014 Twins, though, the organization for a long time eschewed the whiff in favor of a pitch-to-contact approach. They've moved away from that philosophy recently, but the effects are still being felt.
Now, though, Hughes, who's quietly been a free agent bargain this season, triumphantly ushered in a new era of Twins pitching dominance. Or something like that.
In any event, it's somehow fitting that Hughes' opposite number on Saturday, Jose Quintana, bested him in strikeouts by a count of 13 to 11.
