L¨®pez answers the call with career-high velocity

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Twins have been running low on star power as they await the end of Carlos Correa¡¯s drawn-out plantar fasciitis saga and seek further updates on Byron Buxton¡¯s most recent hip setback.

But every fifth game still brings Pablo Day -- and boy, do they need this version of staff ace Pablo López more than ever.

Not only has L¨®pez left the struggles of his first half behind him, but he¡¯s now dominating with some of the best raw stuff of his seven-year career. His fastball velocity once again soared to unseen heights and his sweeper looked as good as it has all season as L¨®pez held the Rays to three runs over 6 2/3 innings, pitching the Twins to a 4-3 win on Thursday at Tropicana Field.

¡°His stuff right now is sharp as it¡¯s been,¡± bench coach Jayce Tingler said. ¡°It¡¯s this time of the year and this is the most electric we¡¯ve seen him. That¡¯s super encouraging going down the stretch.¡±

The split of the four-game series helped the Twins gain a half-game on the idle Guardians and sneak ahead of the Royals for sole possession of second place in the AL Central, closing the gap to a four-game deficit in the division.

L¨®pez¡¯s scoreless streak came to an end at 23 1/3 innings -- the longest single-season streak by a Twin since Tyler Duffey in 2019 -- and his outing might have been cut short by a nearly 10-minute replay review in the seventh inning. Still, he helped an Edouard Julien three-run blast and Matt Wallner solo shot stand as enough offense.

And somehow, as a grueling season nears its end, L¨®pez is stronger than ever -- especially in his continued recovery from a rough first half in which his stuff was way down at times and he pitched to a 5.11 ERA by the All-Star break.

¡°I think early on in the year, there were panic level meters going off everywhere [outside], and I think in here, the panic level was so low for him just because of the pure worker he is,¡± catcher Ryan Jeffers said. ¡°I think we knew this was coming. He¡¯s our ace. He¡¯s been our ace. He¡¯s one of the top pitchers in all of baseball and he¡¯s showing that now.¡±

L¨®pez had never thrown a pitch at 98 mph in his career entering Thursday -- but he threw three of them in this game alone, topping out at 98.6 mph. His sweeper, an inconsistent pitch for much of the year, generated a 70% whiff rate, his second-highest mark of the season.

For that, he credits additional attention to the biomechanics of his delivery in his post-start reviews, the extra day of rest he gets between starts to be able to focus his between-games bullpen sessions and everything from the Twins¡¯ nutritionists to their sleep doctors in helping him maximize his body and get his season back on track.

¡°It's definitely a wonderful feeling to see how the stuff is this late into the season, like you said, later into my career,¡± L¨®pez said. ¡°We have all those resources, and the least we can do is to ask questions, see what many ways to get better are out there and try them.¡±

Though L¨®pez wasn¡¯t perfect -- he allowed a two-run, bases-loaded single to Junior Caminero in the third inning and an RBI double to Yandy D¨ªaz in the seventh -- his effective, lengthy outing is exactly what these injury-ridden Twins needed as he pitched the club to victory for the fourth time in his last five outings.

They¡¯ve really needed those efforts, too. Playing without Correa and Buxton -- and now, Max Kepler -- the Twins had lost four in a row ahead of L¨®pez¡¯s previous outing, when he threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays to stop the skid.

Before that, they had dropped four of five leading into a matchup against the Cardinals -- and then, too, L¨®pez had stepped up to throw seven scoreless frames.

His team needs him now -- and the ace has answered the call.

¡°The team picked me up plenty of times in the first half when I wasn't at my best or my sharpest,¡± L¨®pez said. ¡°It's one of those things that you have to take it personal. We were down in the series, and I knew I had an opportunity to come out here and do it for my guys, do it for my teammates. They keep doing it for me.¡±