Twins closer Jhoan Duran’s May performance honored with monthly award

WEST SACRAMENTO Calif Jhoan Duran did something no Twins pitcher had done since and the closer didn t even realize it until his wife Aida let him know Duran was named the American League Reliever of the Month for May on Tuesday joining Joe Nathan as the only relievers in Twins history to win the award Nathan did it three times the last coming in June I ve never had anything like that Duran revealed It s good for the club too I know it s a long time Duran earned the recognition after a month in which he went - with a earned-run average He gave up one run in innings and converted seven of the eight save opportunities he was given The right-hander struck out in his appearances and walked five But was it the best month of his career or just the first time he d been honored That s up for debate It s the first time I ve won that so maybe it s the best month I ve ever had he commented I don t know I don t see my numbers If he did he would recognize just how good they are The impressive month was a continuation of a dominant season for Duran who entering Tuesday night s play had a ERA across innings He has been awesome He has been pitching great He has been doing his job just at a very high level all year long manager Rocco Baldelli mentioned When you can get a reliever in this league to get recognized for something cause they get almost no recognition they re a huge part of any winning conditions He never really is looking for recognition but it s great that he s getting it Buxton s back Byron Buxton was putting together a pretty good month of May himself before he collided with teammate Carlos Correa in Baltimore on May At the point of his concussion Buxton was hitting with a OPS and four home runs and runs batted in over games in May He ended up missing two weeks but now that he s back and hitting well he s willing to admit that he was a little nervous that it might take several time to get his feel back at the plate The sample size is small but it doesn t seem to have In his first three games since returning from the injured list Buxton has six hits Monday he drove in five runs in the Twins win over the Athletics Might not show it but just having that thought of it taking a couple games to get your swing back Buxton noted That s kind of the thought when you miss games games Then you start getting the creeps of do I need to go on a rehab assignment see pitching And so it was more about trusting who I am and knowing I did everything I was supposed to do to prepare myself for returning Briefly Zebby Matthews will take the ball on Wednesday Matthews is coming off the longest start of his career in which he threw seven innings the last six of which were dominant after giving up four runs in the first inning Related Articles Joe Ryan does escape act Byron Buxton drives in five in Twins win Twins third baseman Royce Lewis remains positive as he works through slump Long-time Mariner Ty France finds good fit in Minnesota Chris Paddack s dominant start goes for naught in Twins loss to Mariners Twins rally then fall in Seattle after Carlos Correa Rocco Baldelli ejected