MINNEAPOLIS -- Pablo López was so happy to be back on the Target Field mound on Friday that he didn’t even mind getting squeezed by the umpire. Of course, the umpire was his own pitching coach, Pete Maki, so López wasn’t about to complain.

López threw two simulated innings -- a total of about 40 pitches -- while facing teammates Edouard Julien, Austin Martin and Ryan Fitzgerald, and by all accounts, the outing was a success.

“I hit all the marks while sustaining the velo I had today in the first and second inning; I was anywhere from 93 to 95 [mph]. The pitches were moving the way they were supposed to,” Lopez said. “Everything felt good with the delivery, the mechanics, the execution, the pounding the zone, that mentality. So, I think everything’s good. I wanted to check all those box

See Full Page