4 October 2023
Five-year-old Declan Gray, the younger of Sonny Gray’s two sons, had some important words of wisdom for the pitcher Tuesday morning. After asking if the Twins are in the playoffs and being told by his dad that yes, the Twins are indeed in the playoffs, Declan gave his father an order.
“He said, “You better not lose,’” Sonny Gray said. “I was like, ‘You know what, Declan? I’m going to do my best.’ They shoot it to you straight. It’s what you love about them. It’s nice to have them around. And I guess that’s what we’ll do. We better not lose.”
Gray will have the ball in his hands for Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, opposed by former Twin José Berríos, with a chance to pitch the Twins to the American League Division Series and a matchup against the Houston Astros. And the Twins couldn’t feel any more confident about handing the ball over to Gray, who has been the picture of consistency all season.
The 33-year-old finished his year with a 2.79 earned-run average, third in the majors and second in the American League. Gray did not miss a start all season after making staying healthy his priority last offseason.
Gray has given up three or fewer runs in all but three games this season, giving the Twins a chance to win nearly every game he has started. While he has consistently been one of the best pitchers in the majors for years, this year, Gray took it to another level.
“This is the most locked in I’ve seen him,” said Gray’s good friend, infielder Kyle Farmer. “I’ve spent three seasons with him with the Reds. And this year, he’s just a different pitcher. He knows what’s on the line for him and the team.”
The stakes couldn’t be much higher for Gray, who has repeatedly said that the reason he is still playing the game is the chance to compete for a World Series ring. He hasn’t had a real opportunity in years, last making the playoffs in 2020, though the Cincinnati Reds were swept out of the Wild Card Series and he did not pitch.
Having the chance to pitch, and to do it in front of his family, including his two boys, Gunnar, 8, and Declan, has made the opportunity even more meaningful for Gray.
“Having them be able to watch me play, play with them, them being able to come into the clubhouse, to just be a part of it, that and then winning a World Series, going on a playoff, going on a postseason run, that’s the things that still drive me in this game,” Gray said. “That’s the reason that I still show up and put in the work that I put in.”
Byron Buxton out for series
Rocco Baldelli and Byron Buxton both understood the reality of the situation. But that didn’t make the conversation any easier for the manager or the player.
Buxton has been working for months to return, first from a hamstring strain and then from a flare up in his right knee, which has bothered him since last year. But when it came down to decision time, the Twins had to leave one of their longest-tenured players, one of the pillars of their team off the playoff roster.
“It was a hard, emotional talk when I spoke with him because talking about these things is difficult and frustrating, too, at times,” Baldelli said.
Buxton first landed on the injured list on Aug. 4 with a hamstring strain. The Twins sent him out on a rehab assignment at the end of August, but after playing the center field for the first time in more than a year, he suffered a setback and the Twins shut down his rehab assignment.
He eventually went back on another rehab assignment at the end of September and has been working out at Target Field, but Baldelli said he had some “minor setbacks along the way of trying to return.” Not playing, Buxton said, is tough, but he understands he can’t control it — all he can do is keep pushing forward, trying to get better.
“I can go out there and do what I want to do but it wouldn’t probably be at the speed I want it to be and that’s one of those where I don’t want to hurt the team,” Buxton said. “I don’t want to put a team in a bad spot with me coming back at 50, 60, 70 percent. There’s guys in here that have done a great job of keeping us where I’m at. It’s kind of knowing your body, knowing who you are and just putting yourself in a place to help the team.”
Louie Varland gets big out
The hometown kid got one of the biggest ovations when players were announced individually before the game. And then he got one of the biggest outs during the game.
When Varland was announced before the game, the crowd of fans chorused a loud “Looooou.”
“I love it,” he said. “Back in high school, it started with just my dad in the gymnasium doing it and now a lot of people are doing it. And that was the whole plan all along.”
The way he’s pitching, he’s going to be hearing a lot more of it. The Twins, who converted Varland to a relief role for the time being late this season, entrusted him with one of the most important situations of the game, bringing him in after starter Pablo López with a pair of runners on in the sixth inning and two outs.
Varland responded by getting a long fly out to center. As the ball traveled, he spun around to watch it. What was going through his head?
“It wasn’t any good thoughts, initially,” he said with a laugh.
But then he saw Gold Glover Michael A. Taylor leap at the wall and come down with it and was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
For Varland, a big Twins fan growing up, being part of the team to break the streak, was a source of pride, he said.
“It was an absolute honor to be a part of that game,” Varland said.