MINNEAPOLIS -- Damage control can often be the difference between a win and a loss for starting pitchers. Last time Kyle Gibson took the hill, he found that out the hard way.
The Twins right-hander wasn't able to limit the damage last Saturday against Detroit and wound up lasting just two innings, the shortest start of his young career. On Friday against Seattle, Gibson was able to control the damage and limited the visiting Mariners to just one run over seven innings as Minnesota won the series opener 5-4 at Target Field.
It was the second time in his last three starts that Gibson went seven innings, but that two-inning clunker was sandwiched in between. In order to produce more starts like the one he had Friday, limiting damage early is key.
"I think that's one thing this year I've done a lot better job of, is making better pitches with guys on base and trying to get ahead," Gibson said after his fourth win of the season. "I'm still falling behind too many guys. . . . I think having my sinker more consistently in the zone and in the bottom of the zone has allowed me to limit damage and keep the ball on the ground."
That sinker was indeed a big pitch for Gibson against Seattle's lineup, as he recorded a total of 14 groundouts to just three flyouts. But when Gibson needed to escape trouble in the first inning, he instead relied on the strikeout to do the job.
After Michael Saunders singled and Robinson Cano reached on a fielder's choice with one out, Gibson fanned Mariners designated hitter Corey Hart for the second out of the inning. A walk to Justin Smoak, however, loaded the bases and put Gibson in a tight spot early in the game.
Once again, Gibson bailed himself out with a strikeout when he got Kyle Seager looking to end Seattle's threat in the scoreless first inning. If not for damage control, the Mariners could have easily taken an early lead on Gibson and the Twins before Minnesota's hitters had a chance to step to the plate.
Gibson couldn't completely limit the damage in the fifth inning. A two-out walk to Saunders -- just one of two walks issued by Gibson in his seven innings of work -- came back to haunt Minnesota. One batter later, Robinson Cano nearly missed a two-run homer to left-center. His fly ball instead hit off the wall for a double and scored Saunders for Seattle's first run of the game.
Once again, though, Gibson escaped another situation with a runner in scoring position via the strikeout. This time the victim was Hart, who whiffed on a 2-2 slider to leave Cano at second.
Gibson had one more fire to put out before his night was done. After Mike Zunino and Brad Miller grounded out for two quick outs in the seventh, Gibson gave up a pair of two-out singles to James Jones and Saunders. Jones reached third on Saunders' second hit of the game, setting the Mariners up with a chance to cut into the Twins' 5-1 lead. This time, Gibson's sinker did the trick as Cano grounded out to second base to once again leave Seattle runners on base.
"I definitely thought with the at-bat before that there was definitely going to be a chance that Saunders was going to be my last hitter," Gibson said. "I think with my changeup the way it was, maybe they thought I had a chance to go out there and throw a couple good changeups and get him to roll over. I think the four-run lead helped. Even a homer right there puts it 5-4, so it wasn't like it was going to be tied or give them the lead."
After Caleb Thielbar gave up three runs in relief, Twins closer Glen Perkins was able to fend off the Mariners in the ninth to preserve the 5-4 win. It gave Gibson his first win in nearly a month after he started the season 3-0.
Since winning those three games, Gibson has had a pair of starts last three innings or less, but he's also tossed two quality starts so far this month. Friday's outing was a nice bounceback effort after he was roughed up by the Tigers. Now it's a matter of backing this performance up with another strong start next week.
"He kind of gathered himself and made some pitches when he had to," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "Through the middle part of the game, he was cruising. He was using all his pitches. . . . He controlled the game pretty doggone good and got us a solid performance from him."
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