Twins great Johan Santana honors Pablo López before the ceremonial first pitch in ALDS Game 3

Twins great Johan Santana honors Pablo López before the ceremonial first pitch in ALDS Game 3

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3:00 AM UTC

MINNEAPOLIS – When Pablo López walked into Target Field on Oct. 3 before the start of Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, in which he helped end Minnesota’s 18-game playoff losing streak, he was wearing the old-fashioned pinstripe home jersey Twins the name of his childhood idol: long-time ace Johan Santana.

López brought that good vibe to the field — and Santana brought even more to it Tuesday afternoon.

Santana was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to his old Battery mate Joe Mauer before Minnesota’s 9-1 loss to Houston in Game 3 of the AL Division Series at Target Field, and the Twins gave the occasion special meaning with their ace Gift by letting López take the baseball to the mound.

But Santana raised his hand to stop López before he made it to the finish. That gave him pause as Santana unzipped the dark blue jacket he’d worn on the chilly 54-degree day in Minneapolis – revealing that he was wearing López’s jersey underneath, a clear nod to the toll López had paid tribute to him a week ago.

López turned back to his dugout with an incredulous smile as Santana spun around on the mound and pointed to López’s name and number on his back.

“It’s the least I can do,” Santana said. “He’s a great pitcher. He is a great person. Just having the opportunity to share this moment with him and the fans is always good.

“In any case, he’s doing his job. I wish him all the best and think he has what it takes to win it all.”

From the moment López joined the organization in the offseason deal with the Marlins that sent Luis Arraez to Miami, López has been very open about how the Twins organization always had a special meaning to him, as he grew up watching Santana – his compatriot – idolized. while growing up as a young baseball fan in Venezuela.

López has given Twins fans a glimpse of performances rarely seen in the Twin Cities since the days of Santana – and for one day, Minnesota fans saw things come full circle as their ace of the past joined the ace of the present homage.

“When I spoke to him [World Baseball Classic] “About the whole thing and how important I was to his career and everything else, it meant a lot to me,” Santana said. “I have no choice but to be grateful for the whole thing.”