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If you woke up this morning and felt that the world was a changed place, that feeling you had was correct. The Minnesota Twins announced this morning that they have reinstated utility man Willians Astudillo from the injured list. To make this news even better, La Tortuga’s mother, Ma Tortuga, is throwing out the first pitch today and her son will be the one catching it, according to Do-Hyoung Park. They’ve apparently practiced throwing and catching in his apartment parking lot. To make this news even more better (as if it couldn’t be better than this), he’s rumored to be catching - and leading off today.
The Twins have also reinstated starting pitcher Martin Perez from the paternity list. Pérez and his wife welcomed a baby boy earlier this week and he will make the start on the mound for the Twins this afternoon.
One corresponding move to this was that the Twins sent down Fernando Romero. Romero was up for his second stint this year after being called up exclusively for the doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles back on April 20. He has shown some improvement during this time up here, as he’s been able to low his ERA to 5.63 in seven appearances over eight innings. He’s struck out eight batters while issuing three walks and allowing five earned runs.
The other corresponding move was sending down Kohl Stewart, who replaced Pérez on the roster while he was on the paternity list. Stewart was also up in the big leagues for the second time this season. He pitched in the night-cap of yesterday’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, earning the W in a six-inning performance, allowing three earned runs on six hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and allowing a homer.
One other move that the Twins made was to return Tyler Duffey to the Rochester Red Wings. Duffey, too, was in his second stint in the majors this year, but specifically as the 26th man on the Twins roster for yesterday’s doubleheader. He was able to lower his MLB ERA to 1.42 last night in a scoreless inning of relief.