Plenty of Minnesota Twins hitters got in on the fun during their 18-9 win Tuesday over the Chicago White Sox. That included the newest addition to the Twins roster, infielder Eduardo Escobar.
Escobar, who was promoted earlier Tuesday from Triple-A Rochester as a September call-up, tied the game with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the second inning and later tacked on his third RBI on a base hit to right that scored Trevor Plouffe to make it a 10-4 Twins lead.
"Escobar came up and got a huge single for us with the bases loaded," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after Tuesday's win. "Those are the situations that we've been fighting lately, not being able to open up a game or come up with a big hit with runners out there like that. He comes up with a big one."
Escobar's big night — he finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a walk — came against his former White Sox team. Chicago signed him as an amateur free agent in January of 2006 and he spent the next several years in the White Sox organization before he was traded to Minnesota this July. The Twins acquired Escobar along with pitcher Pedro Hernandez for enigmatic left-hander Francisco Liriano. Since joining the White Sox, Liriano is 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA in seven starts.
On Tuesday, Escobar returned to U.S. Cellular Field, the same park he called home for the beginning of his major league career. His new team was glad to have him on their side as they beat up on his former squad.
"It's exciting to get him up here in the first place and get a chance to look for ourselves," Gardenhire said. "Those guys on the other side had nothing but good things to say about him and what a wonderful guy he is and a player. We got to see it first-hand. He got some big hits for us. He had a really good night swinging."
Escobar had three RBI earlier this season with Chicago in 87 at-bats. On Tuesday, only Twins first baseman Chris Parmelee had more RBI, as Parmelee drove in four runs — including a three-run homer.
Escobar spent over a month with Rochester after he was traded to Minnesota. While with the Red Wings, he batted .217 with nine RBI and one home run in 35 games. Last year with the Charlotte Knights, Chicago's Triple-A affiliate, Escobar hit .266/.303/.354 with 49 RBI and 23 doubles in 137 games.
The Twins are still looking for a player to assert himself as an answer at shortstop. Minnesota has now used four different shortstops this year after Escobar's debut on Tuesday. Brian Dozier held down the job for 81 games but was demoted to Rochester and not recalled for September. Utility infielder Jamey Carroll has played 36 games at shortstop, while Pedro Florimon has seen action at shorstop in 18 games.
It remains to be seen how much playing time Escobar will get in the final month of the 2012 season. But at 23 years old, Escobar entered the year ranked by Baseball America as the White Sox's 10th-best prospect. His age and upside makes Escobar an intriguing player to watch at shortstop for the rest of the season as well as next spring.
At least for one night, Escobar left a good first impression on his new team — and the expense of his old one."
"It was nice to see. Sometimes you get overamped when you come into these situations," Gardenhire said. "Tonight, he handled it very well."
Robby Incmikoski contributed to this report.
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