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Twins' Reliable Rogers Exemplifies Team's Surprise Rise

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There might not be a guy on the roster that exemplifies the Twins' surprise rise better than Taylor Rogers -- a young guy who's come out of nowhere to quietly become one of the best bullpen guys in baseball.

"Last year was not only my first time in the big leagues, it was my first time out of the bullpen. So every day was kind of a new thing for me, I was still trying to figure out how to get ready for each day instead of every five days. So now I've got that kind of more in tuned," Rogers said.

Rogers has allowed just eight runs all season, and only three runs in the past two months. He took over the set-up man role in mid-May, and has been rock-solid reliable. His ERA has dropped to 2.14 and he leads the majors in holds.

Taylor Rogers
(credit: CBS)

"My mindset is kind of of that, of just being the closer of that inning. And just getting the ball to Kintzler in the 9th," Rogers said.

"I'm glad that Mollie has confidence in me, and I do take pride in being able to go out there every day for him."

It's kind of crazy when you think about it: Rogers has gone from making his big league debut, to leading the big leagues in holds, in less than 15 months. So yes, there's a part of this where it's a little surreal.

"Yes. Sometimes it hits me, sometimes it doesn't," he said.

"It's cool, I don't look at stats during the season. Just because as a reliever, you get a bad couple games, and things can flip-flop on you. But just keep my head to the grindstone, and we'll look at things when the season's over."

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