MINNEAPOLIS — Though he hoped for more time to chat at first base with his Team Canada teammate Freddie Freeman, Twins second baseman Edouard Julien was minimally concerned. The same goes for his slow start to the 2024 season.
Julien undoubtedly wishes he were off to a better start to the new season. Walking to the plate and seeing those harsh early offensive figures beaming down at him from the scoreboard would be difficult for a hitter of any age, let alone one in his second season.
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But as much as he’d struggled, Julien said before Wednesday’s breakout performance he wasn’t panicked because he felt good about his process.
“At some point, the trend is going to turn,” he said before the game.
On cue, Julien put together one of the best games of his young career. Not only did he get to speak with Freeman after singling, but Julien delivered the first multi-homer game of his career, including the go-ahead homer in a 3-2 Twins win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I’ve never been in a panic or like in a mental space where I’m like, ‘Oh man, it’s not going well,’” Julien said before the game. “I’ve been hitting the ball hard lately and that’s the only thing I can control. If I keep doing it, it’s going to come. I can’t panic.”
EDDY JULIEN IS ON A MISSION 🚀#WEBELIEVEINTC pic.twitter.com/azGGB7GR6w
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 10, 2024
Though they only played together for a brief period during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Freeman quickly noticed Julien possessed key ingredients to be a good player. Freeman appreciated Julien’s compact swing, his approach and the care he demonstrated. Julien says he peppered the 2020 National League Most Valuable Player with questions.
“He was always asking questions about approaching certain situations, left-handed pitching,” Freeman said. “He wanted every little detail because he wants to be really, really good. It was fun.”
At the time, Julien was in big-league camp but had yet to make his debut. With Freeman standing 30 feet to his left only for a brief window, Julien didn’t want to miss out on a valuable opportunity to ask anything.
“You learn so much from these guys, and especially me being in that situation where I was trying to make it,” Julien said. “The big leagues were still new to me. I didn’t know what it was. … I was asking a lot of questions.”
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Julien entered Wednesday’s series finale hitting .107/.194/.250 with one homer and one RBI in 31 plate appearances. Despite the poor results, he felt good about his process in the early portion of the season.
“I wasn’t feeling that far off from stringing a couple hits together,” Julien said. “They were pitching me well. They were pitching me at the bottom. I knew at one point they were going to make a mistake and I could take advantage of counts being early and I would get a fastball to hit. That’s what I did today.”
EDDY JULIEN YOU DOG!! 🤩#WEBELIEVEINTC pic.twitter.com/f7n3Vv8W9D
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 10, 2024
Freeman also said he was unconcerned about Julien’s long-term outlook because the Twins second baseman has a far better grasp of his approach than Freeman did in his second season. He likes how Julien allows the ball to travel and hits with power the opposite way.
During his first-inning at-bat, Julien demonstrated his opposite-field pop, blasting a solo homer to tie the score at 1-1. After noting they’d had limited chances to talk during the series, Julien was afforded the opportunity to chat up Freeman after a leadoff single in the third. “I haven’t really haven’t been on base — it’s pretty hard to do,” he said earlier.
Afterward, Julien said, “It was good to see him, he’s a good guy.”
Then Julien played the villain for Dodgers fans when he homered again in the fifth, this one off lefty Alex Vesia.
“The compact swing, that’s going to work,” Freeman said. “I know it’s not what it looks like on the field right now. But when I first saw him, it’s just the approach, the care. … Everybody has different mechanics, how they do things. But someone who can stick to an approach, pitch after pitch, that’s what sets them apart.”
Correa’s game-saving throw
“He’s got a hose,” center fielder Byron Buxton said of Twins shortstop Carlos Correa’s arm.
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Correa’s hose quickly snuffed out a potential five-alarm fire late in Wednesday’s game. With Shohei Ohtani trying to score the tying run from first on Freeman’s double into the right-field corner, Correa raced toward the first base line to retrieve Alex Kirilloff’s relay throw.
Then he unleashed an accurate, 92.2 mph laser home. Catcher Christian Vázquez caught the ball, applied the tag, and after a replay overturn, Correa was credited with an awe-inspiring assist.
NEVER. A. DOUBT. 👊#WeBelieveInTC pic.twitter.com/vpO4RpoYYR
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 10, 2024
In the sixth inning, Correa also used a slap tag after a perfect throw from Vázquez to cut down a stolen-base attempt by James Outman.
“I knew we had a good chance at home, and AK gave me a good throw and then the tag by Vázquez was special,” Correa said. “It was a great play. … With (Ohtani’s) speed around the bases, we knew we had to be perfect.”
Hideous streak snapped
At long last, the Twins’ dreaded spell ended in the third inning Wednesday. Following four earlier missed chances, Buxton singled in the go-ahead run with one out, snapping an 0-for-33 team stretch with runners in scoring position.
Buxton’s hit was the first since Ryan Jeffers singled in a ninth-inning run in the team’s 7-3 win at Milwaukee last Wednesday.
“It takes each other, mentally, to make sure you don’t go down those dark roads and get yourself in deeper trenches,” Buxton said. “We make sure that no matter how you feel or how the outcome was, make sure before you leave here you’re in that positive state. So when you come back, you make yourself better.”
As rough as it was, the streak was still well short of the 2022 Chicago Cubs, who went 48 at-bats without driving in a runner in scoring position.
“You can call it a relief if you want, but it’s just a moment that I think settles the group down in a lot of ways,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Buck brings one home 👏#WeBelieveInTC pic.twitter.com/G8w5xQccoB
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 10, 2024
Tonkin rejoins Twins
Following the 2021 season, Michael Tonkin simply hoped for one more chance to prove he had major-league stuff. The Aguilas Cibaeñas and the Dominican Winter League provided him with the platform.
Tonkin played independent ball in 2019 and 2021. He also played in the Mexican League in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic had wiped out his chance to be an Arizona Diamondbacks minor leaguer in 2020. He felt like he was throwing better than ever.
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When the Cibaeñas called, Tonkin agreed right away even though he hadn’t pitched in two months.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do this,’” Tonkin said. “It’s either, I can show I can pitch, or I realize I’m done and I can be done peacefully. I went out there and I was like 94 to 96 (mph) right away. I hadn’t been 94-96 in three, four years. I’m like, ‘I guess I should keep playing.’”
Tonkin struck out 16 with a 0.68 ERA in 13 1/3 innings that winter. He signed with the Atlanta Braves and spent all of 2022 at Triple A before returning to the majors for the first time since 2017 on April 2, 2023. Tonkin appeared in 45 games for the Braves, finishing with a 4.28 ERA in 80 innings.
Now, he’s back with the Twins, for whom he pitched 141 games from 2013-17. The Twins acquired Tonkin for cash from the New York Mets on Tuesday. Only Buxton, Max Kepler and Caleb Thielbar remain from his first stint.
“Luckily, I trusted my gut, and it got me back,” Tonkin said. “I got a whole year in the big leagues last year, and it got me here right now.”
Potpourri
Steven Okert earned his first career save Wednesday, working around a one-out, pinch-hit single by Will Smith. Okert appeared to be out of the inning when Julien turned a 4-3 double play only for an overturned call from New York, which brought Mookie Betts up. Okert fell behind 2-0 in the count but Betts popped out to end it. “I was really hoping it was over before that, but obviously it worked out,” Okert said. “It feels good.” … Max Kepler was placed on the injured list on Tuesday with a right knee contusion retroactive to April 7. Baldelli said further exams have revealed no structural damage since Kepler fouled a pitch off his knee on Opening Day. … Following Wednesday’s win, Austin Martin was presented with his first hit ball in a team postgame celebration. Martin doubled twice in Tuesday’s loss. Okert received the game ball from Wednesday’s contest after converting his first save.
— The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya contributed to this report.
(Photo of Julien: Matt Krohn / USA Today)