Duran secured the save in Friday's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two.
Duran successfully converted his fifth save in a row, and he's now turned in six consecutive scoreless outings. The hard-throwing right-hander appears to be well over an illness that cost him Tuesday's tilt against the Cubs. Duran sports a 1.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 47:16 K:BB while converting 15 of his 17 save chances over 42.1 innings, and his ERA would be a career best if it sticks.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Slams door for 14th save
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Duran tallied the save in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Cubs, throwing a clean ninth inning with no strikeouts.
Duran wasn't available for Tuesday's win over Chicago due to an illness, but he was feeling well enough to nail down his 14th save of the season Wednesday. The hard-throwing right-hander posted his fifth scoreless outing in a row, and he should continue to serve as the Twins' closer going forward. Through 41.1 innings this year, Duran holds an excellent 1.52 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 45:16 K:BB.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Battling illness
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Duran was unavailable for Tuesday's 8-1 win over the Cubs due to an illness, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
The Twins sent Duran home early Tuesday to prevent him from spreading his illness to his teammates, but he'll likely be back in the bullpen within a few days. In the meantime, Minnesota could turn to Louis Varland or Griffin Jax for any save chances that may arise.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Notches 13th save
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Duran gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his 13th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Marlins. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.
The Minnesota closer converted his third straight save chance on just nine pitches (seven strikes). Duran hasn't quite been his usual dominant self over the last month or so, posting a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB through 11 innings since the beginning of June, but he still has yet to serve up a homer in 2025 and remains entrenched in the ninth-inning role for the Twins.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Slams door for 12th save
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Duran picked up the save in Friday's 4-1 win over the Tigers, throwing a clean ninth inning. He struck out one.
The hard-throwing right-hander quickly dispatched the opposition, hurling seven of his nine pitches for strikes en route to his 12th save of the year. Duran has been quite reliable as the Twins' closer, successfully converting 12 of his 14 chances while posting a 1.69 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 42:14 K:BB across 37.1 innings. Duran has also yet to give up a single home run in 2025.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Blows save Sunday
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Duran blew the save Sunday against the Astros, allowing one run on one hit and one walk with a strikeout over one inning.
Duran took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with a 1-0 lead but surrendered a leadoff walk to Jeremy Pena, who came around to score on a game-tying sacrifice fly to give Duran the blown save. It was Duran's second blown save of the campaign, and he's allowed a run in three of his last five appearances. In 33 innings this season, Duran owns a 1.64 ERA.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Pockets ninth save
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Duran walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his ninth save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Rays.
It was the right-hander's first save since May 14, as Duran blew his only save chance during the previous two-week stretch. That blown save was the only time in his last 15 appearances he's been tagged with an earned run, however, and over that 15-game stretch he's posted a 0.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB in 15 innings.
Duran (2-0) got the win after blowing the save in Monday's suspended game against the Guardians. He allowed a run on two hits and no walks while striking out one in the ninth inning.
The two teams finished up the suspended contest prior to Wednesday's regularly scheduled game, and the Minnesota closer was called upon to protect a three-run advantage in the ninth inning after Joe Ryan allowed the first two batters to reach. Duran was unable to maintain the lead but still got the win since Kody Clemens delivered a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the frame. It's the first blown save of the year in nine chances for Duran, who entered the contest having not given up an earned run in his previous 11 appearances. He's been dominant early in 2025 with a 1.21 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 26:9 K:BB across 26 innings and remains locked in as the Twins' closer.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Collects eighth save
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Duran recorded his eighth save of the season in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Orioles, giving up a hit and striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
The Twins closer continues to dominate. Duran has yet to blow a save in 2025, and he's delivered 10 straight scoreless appearances, posting a 0.90 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB over 10 innings during that stretch. After some early-season usage which suggested manager Rocco Baldelli might be viewing him as more of a high-leverage fireman, Duran has maintained firm control of ninth-inning duties for Minnesota.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Secures fourth save
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Duran earned the save in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Duran was summoned for the second straight game and needed just nine pitches to slam the door once again. While the 27-year-old has had only four save opportunities this season, he's converted all of them and sports a 1.17 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 17:8 K:BB across 15.1 innings.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Captures third save
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Duran earned the save against the Red Sox on Saturday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Duran was brought in for the ninth inning to preserve the Twins' 4-3 lead. He yielded a single to Rafael Devers and intentionally walked Alex Bregman, but Duran was able to close things out by getting Wilyer Abreu to fly out to left field. Duran has not given up a run in four straight outings and has a 1.26 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB across 14.1 innings while converting all three of his save chances. He tossed 16 pitches (12 strikes), so he should be available for a save opportunity if one arises in Sunday's series finale.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Earns shaky save
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Duran earned his second save of the season in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the White Sox, allowing one run on a hit and two walks while striking out a batter.
Duran was staked to a three-run lead after Trevor Larnach homered in the eighth, but he nearly imploded. The White Sox loaded the bases after a single and two walks to begin the inning, but Duran responded with a strikeout and groundout before Byron Buxton saved his bacon with a spectacular diving catch on a potential extra-base hit by Andrew Benintendi to end the game. Tuesday was Duran's first outing allowing a run since his season debut, as he's pitched to an excellent 1.74 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 11 appearances thus far.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Holds on for first save of 2025
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Duran picked up the save Tuesday against the Mets after allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out one.
A throwing error by Willi Castro set the table for the Mets, later enabling a Luisangel Acuna single to bring the tying run to the plate in a 6-3 game. Duran was still ultimately able to fan Francisco Lindor to earn his first save of the campaign. The hard-throwing right-hander remains the favorite for saves over Griffin Jax in the Minnesota bullpen, with Duran logging a 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 6:3 K:BB over 7.1 innings to begin the season.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Sharp despite lack of save chances
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Duran threw a perfect inning while striking out one in Sunday's 5-1 win over Detroit. He has a 1.42 ERA with five strikeouts in 6.1 innings but doesn't have a save chance.
He was lined up to get a save opportunity, but the Twins scored in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Duran a four-run lead to protect in the ninth inning. The Twins do not have a save yet as a team this season. Duran's velocity is down slightly this season (99.9 mph average fastball from 100.5 mph last season), but he's still been very effective. He's set to get the bulk of save chances for the Twins, though manager Rocco Baldelli will likely play matchups and use Duran in the eighth inning at times with Griffin Jax pitching the ninth inning.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Not worried about drop in velocity
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Duran's fastball velocity has been down this spring, but he says it's by design, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "I focus more on my mechanics and my pitches' movement," Duran said this week. "I don't need to throw really hard right now. Maybe in the [regular season] I throw harder, or maybe not."
Duran "only" reached 100.8 mph with his fastball Saturday while tossing a scoreless inning against the Red Sox and striking out one. That's in contrast to the 102.5 mph he hit in his first spring outing of 2023, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. The decline doesn't appear to be a major concern, as his fastball is still elite and he could just be easing into spring training as a more established veteran. Duran is set to return as Minnesota's closer, but manager Rocco Baldelli often deploys his bullpen without regard for the save statistic, meaning Griffin Jax and others will get save chances if matchups call for Duran to be used earlier in the game.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Allows run but grabs save
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Duran allowed a run on three hits and struck out two over one inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Angels.
Duran was able to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning despite giving up an RBI single to Nolan Schanuel. Over his last seven appearances (5.2 innings), Duran has surrendered eight runs (seven earned), though he's still logged five saves in that span. The right-hander is now at a 4.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 56:13 K:BB while racking up 23 saves through 48.1 innings this year.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Earns 21st save
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Duran earned the save in Monday's 5-4 win over the Rays, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Duran was called upon for the second straight day and came through with the save on 14 pitches. It was the 26-year-old's first clean appearance since Aug. 15, but he has successfully converted five of his six save opportunities in that span. On the year, he is 21-for-23 in save chances and owns a 3.52 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 51:13 K:BB across 46 innings.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Secures save Sunday
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Duran picked up the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays, striking out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Duran reeled off his second save of the weekend. He began his outing with a strikeout and navigated around a hit batter to pick up his 20th save of the season, his second consecutive campaign with at least 20 saves. Duran has now had to work around a batter on the bases in seven straight appearances but has only allowed an earned run one of those outings. For the year, the 26-year-old has a 3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 50:13 K:BB in 45 innings.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Falls apart in extras
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Duran (6-8) took the loss Tuesday, coughing up four runs (three earned) on four hits in one-third of an inning in an 8-6 extra-inning loss to Atlanta. He struck out one.
Called in for the top of the 10th inning in a 4-4 tie, Duran gave up a double to Marcell Ozuna to lead off the frame and never found his footing. The Twins' closer has been tagged for runs in six of 14 appearances since the All-Star break, stumbling to a 5.84 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over that stretch despite a 20:3 K:BB in 12.1 innings. Duran's recent struggles seem largely due to bad luck -- his average exit velocity allowed on the season sits in the 91st percentile, while his groundball rate is in the 98th percentile.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Saddled with tough-luck loss
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Duran (6-7) took the loss Sunday, allowing two runs (zero earned) on three hits over one inning against the Cardinals. He struck out two.
Duran appeared in his second consecutive game after having not previously pitched since last Sunday. He should have gotten out of the inning unscathed with his 19th save in tow, but a one-out ground ball that could have resulted in a game-ending double play was thrown into left field by Edouard Julien, extending the inning. Two batters later, Lars Nootbaar connected on a two-out single that drove in two and saddled Duran with the tough-luck loss. On the positive side for Duran, while his K/9 is at a career-low 10.13, he's struck out multiple batters five times in his last seven outings, allowing just one earned run with a K/9 of 18.47 during that stretch.
