Pablo

Lopez

Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler mentioned earlier this offseason that Jax could potentially make the leap to Minnesota’s starting rotation next season, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. It’ll be Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack in addition to some combination of Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa or Zebby Matthews breaking camp in the rotation mix. The 30-year-old righty, who broke in the majors as a starter back in 2021, has excelled in a high-leverage role for the Twins over the past three seasons. He piled up 10 saves last year to accompany a sparkling 2.03 ERA (1.94 FIP), 0.87 WHIP and 95/15 K/BB ratio across 71 innings (72 appearances). He’ll remain among the most impactful non-closers in the fantasy landscape and a legitimate force in saves plus holds formats heading into 2025.

López did well to gather himself after a first inning two-run home run from Ryan O’Hearn as the Twins’ season was slipping away from them. He worked around trouble and kept Baltimore off the board until he was pulled in the sixth inning doing everything he could to keep his squad in the game. He had a great feel for his changeup against the lefty-heavy Orioles lineup and mostly kept his fastball out of the heart of the plate. López will be an interesting player to evaluate this off-season after a hot and cold campaign with a growing home run problem.

López struck out three and walked one, but he also allowed two separate three-run home runs to Triston Casas, which was his major undoing. It hasn’t quite been the season many fantasy managers expected from López, who will now take a 4.11 ERA into his final start of the year against the Orioles next week.

It’ll be a split doubleheader, with the first game starting at 12:35 p.m. EDT and the second starting at 5:35 p.m. EDT. The Red Sox will have Nick Pivetta go in Game 1, followed by Saturday’s scheduled starter Kutter Crawford. The Twins will stay in order with Pablo López in Game 1 and Zebby Matthews in Game 2.

Lopez gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out four. He had won each of his last four starts. Lopez was in line to win again until Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run go-ahead home run in the eighth inning. He’s allowed three runs or less in 11 of his last 12 starts and has a 2.11 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings in that time. Lopez is 15-8 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 187 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings on the year. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Red Sox on the road this weekend.

López had tossed four scoreless innings before an error with two outs extended the fifth inning. The Angels would bring four unearned runs in to score, including a three-run homer by Zach Neto. López would go on to toss two more scoreless frames, ending his day with no earned runs over seven frames while striking out ten batters. The 28-year-old right-hander has now posted a 1.93 ERA with 62 strikeouts over 65 1/3 innings since the All-Star break. López will take on the Guardians in Cleveland on Monday.

López surrendered a two-run single to Junior Caminero in the third and a ground-rule double that scored a run in the seventh by Yandy Diaz. Outside of that the 28-year-old hurler was solid; throwing 62-of-91 pitches for strikes and issuing just one walk against the aforementioned nine punchouts. López has been sensational as of late, and while this start did see his scoreless innings streak come to an end, this would qualify as a quality outing for sure. He should do numbers against the Angels on Wednesday.

It’s López’s third straight scoreless start. He’s lowered his ERA from 5.11 at the All-Star break to 4.05 now, and he’s in the top 20 in the majors in wins (13), strikeouts (164) and WHIP (1.12). He’s due to face the Rays next time out.

Lopez gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine. He dominated the Cardinals in Sonny Gray’s return to Minnesota. The win was Lopez’s 12th of the year and he’s now won four of his last six starts. He has a 4.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 161 strikeouts in 148 innings this year. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Blue Jays at home next week.

López left with a four-run lead and then watched Jorge Alcala give up five runs in the seventh. López, though, was never a candidate to pitch that inning after needing 107 pitches through six. He has a 2.91 ERA in his last 10 outings, lowering his overall mark from 5.63 to 4.47. He’ll take on the Cardinals next.