MINNEAPOLIS -- The home crowd at Target Field sensed the possibility of something special.
Twins rookie Kennys Vargas -- already a fan favorite -- stepped to the plate with two men on with one out in the ninth inning Thursday against the Angels with his team trailing by a run. As he got ahead 3-1 in the count against Los Angeles closer Huston Street, things were in Vargas' favor to perhaps tie or even end the game with another big hit.
Instead, the 24-year-old slugger went through one of the inevitable growing pains that all rookies experience. He wound up striking out against Street for the second out, and the Angels sealed their 5-4 win one batter later when Eduardo Escobar flew out to end the game.
Vargas had about as impressive a first month in the majors as any Twins player in recent memory. He entered Thursday's series opener with six homers and 31 RBI since his big league debut on Aug. 1. But the at-bat in the ninth inning was evidence that, for how good Vargas has been, he still has some things to learn.
"Huston's been closing for a long time. I think he knows in a situation like that against a young hitter, less is more," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He was throwing less. He was taking a lot off the ball. I know a guy like that understands, you try to power it by that big guy and you have a chance to get hurt. He just kept taking more and more off and letting it go down towards the ground. . . .
"A good experience for him. The first time he's seen the guy, and that's always tough."
After Vargas got ahead 3-1 in the count, the rookie appeared to be looking for a fastball from Street. Instead, the veteran closer gave Vargas a steady diet of changeups -- three in a row, to be exact.
Vargas swung and missed at the first one, an 81 mph offering, to load the count. He then stayed alive by fouling off the second Street changeup, this time an 80 mph pitch.
With Danny Santana on second base and Brian Dozier on first, Vargas knew he had a chance to be a hero. Street knew that, too, and the Angels closer slipped one more changeup past Vargas. The final of the three changeups was low at 81 mph and likely would have been called ball four, but it fooled Vargas enough to swing and miss for a strikeout.
After the game, Vargas admitted he was surprised to see three straight changeups, likely something he didn't experience much in the minors before he made the leap from Double-A New Britain to the majors.
"I look for a fastball, because he go 3-1," Vargas said. "I look for something hard, and he beat me with a changeup. He made a good pitch."
The numbers Vargas has put up in his first month have certainly been impressive: 44 hits, six home runs and 31 RBI in 33 games. But there's another number that has been somewhat concerning, and that's the 39 strikeouts -- including two more Thursday -- in in 139 at-bats.
When Vargas first came into the league in early August, he saw a steady stream of fastballs from opposing pitchers who knew what to expect from the big, switch-hitting Vargas. Now the book seems to be out on Vargas a bit. It's up to him to make the counter-adjustments to the adjustments pitchers are making to him.
That didn't happen Thursday, and the result was a strikeout in a big situation. But the ever-smiling Vargas didn't get too hard on himself. Instead, he viewed the ninth-inning at-bat for exactly what it was: a learning experience.
"It's hard to control that situation because the team needed a run. I want to hit," Vargas said. "I need to learn depending on the situation to be patient, try to look for my pitch. ... I learn something every day. It's an experience. Next time, I've got it."
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