<\/p>\n
KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 As if he already didn\u2019t have a lot on his mind pitching in the majors for the first time in three months, Pablo L\u00f3pez also noted that Friday was the 18th anniversary of his mother\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Considering everything, L\u00f3pez excelled for the Minnesota Twins in a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez said it was \u201can emotional day overall. But a long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Twins fell for the fifth straight time, they\u2019re 28-52 since June 5, and their overall record dropped to 62-79. But they\u2019re also focusing more on individual development and putting themselves in good position for next season after moving 11 players at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Getting their ace back on the mound counts as a big win.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came out and reminded us all of all the great things that he does,\u201d manager Rocco Baldelli said.<\/p>\n
Making his first start with the Twins since June 3 because of a shoulder muscle injury, L\u00f3pez allowed two runs, six hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts over six innings. He reached 96.1 mph on his four-seam fastball and averaged 94.3 mph, two-tenths below his season average. He also registered 10 misses on 46 swings by Royals batters, throwing 92 pitches overall.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez said it felt torturous to be away from pitching for 13 1\/2 weeks after sustaining a Grade 2 strain of the teres major in his right shoulder, a similar injury to what Joe Ryan had a season ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated it, hated it,\u201d said L\u00f3pez, who hadn\u2019t missed a start in his first two seasons with the Twins.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in rehab, it\u2019s like psychological warfare,\u201d L\u00f3pez continued. \u201cYou feel like you\u2019re in everyone\u2019s way. You feel like you can\u2019t contribute. I may be exaggerating with this word, but you feel like you\u2019re useless. You can\u2019t do anything other than moral support, be there to mentor some of the other people. But you can\u2019t really contribute in a tangible way.\u201d<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez conceded that while he\u2019s medically 100% to pitch, doctors told him that he won\u2019t feel 100% for perhaps three more months.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a medical standpoint, the thing was, you\u2019re going to feel good, ready, strong enough to pitch,\u201d said L\u00f3pez, a son of two doctors. \u201cBut really the tissue, ligament, tendon, muscle, whatever it is, it\u2019s not going to be all the way healed up for like six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez said he had to calm himself in the beginning, even though he retired the first two batters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be lying if I told you I wasn\u2019t having a lot of, like, heart-beating-fast moments in that first inning,\u201d L\u00f3pez said.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez allowed a two-run homer to Maikel Garcia in the third \u2014 bad location on a sweeper, L\u00f3pez said \u2014 but he pitched out of a jam in the sixth with the help of his defense.<\/p>\n
After the first two batters reached, catcher Jhonny Pereda picked Garcia off second base with a perfect throw plus a great tag by Brooks Lee. L\u00f3pez followed by striking out Adam Frazier and getting weak contact by Michael Massey, who popped to Lee at short.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez smacked his own glove and did likewise to Pereda\u2019s mitt as he walked off the mound. He also lauded Pereda for getting to Kauffman Stadium on short notice and contributing after Ryan Jeffers was put in limbo by a head contusion sustained the day before.<\/p>\n
Pereda was added before the game from Triple-A St. Paul, where he happened to catch two of L\u00f3pez\u2019s recent injury rehab starts. He\u2019s also a former summer league teammate of L\u00f3pez\u2019s in Venezuela. The familiarity seemed to help bring cohesion to L\u00f3pez\u2019s performance. L\u00f3pez told Baldelli to have confidence in Pereda.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big part of the job is made easier, to call pitches,\u201d Pereda said. \u201cWe talked a lot when he was rehabbing in Triple-A, so it was pretty easy today because we were on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pereda, who played 17 games with the Athletics earlier in the season, also hit an RBI double and drew a walk in his Twins debut.<\/p>\n
Jeffers exited early in the game Thursday against the White Sox, and the Twins wanted to be prudent by resting him in the series opener against the Royals. Jeffers isn\u2019t in concussion protocol, the Twins said.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez isn\u2019t all the way back, but he felt great about this step toward the goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything, my stuff felt a little better as the game went on,\u201d L\u00f3pez said. \u201cFastball had good life. I thought we were hitting the lines we were supposed to hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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