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Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli gave major praise to his struggling starter Kenta Maeda after a bounce back performance against the Kansas City Royals.
Maeda threw seven innings with just one earned run in a 9-3 win for the Twins, and Baldelli was thrilled to see flashes of old.
“When you know you’ve got a guy that was second in the Cy Young a couple years ago coming back, that’s second in the league Cy Young-type stuff. That’s the kind of guy that we know,” Baldelli told reporters per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com.
Maeda got Tommy John surgery after a UCL injury in August 2021. The 34-year-old has been battling his way back, and tossed his first innings in April. He was re-injured with a triceps strain shortly after that, and missed another two months.
He finally won his first start in nearly two years at the end of June, and was excited to feel like he had his game back.
“I’m just genuinely happy to get that first W,” Maeda said through an interpreter. If anything, like mentally, I think I’m back as the Kenta Maeda that everyone knows. I think I can excel from here.”
There is no doubt that finally earning a hard fought win was crucial to his confidence building. He won again on July 4th, in his strongest start since his return from Tommy John.
He is sporting a 1.59 ERA in three starts since the second injury return, and looks like his old self that finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2020.
