No Benders from Duffey?

We were all glad to see the Twins win Wednesday night, but I was baffled by the pitch selection of Tyler Duffey and Chris Herrmann. Why oh why would they opt for a slew of fastballs when Duffey's greatest weapon is his curve? I understand the notion of throwing what the hitters don't expect, and maybe they were sitting on his curve after watching Duffey dominate with tons of them in his past two games. But really... when hitters whiff so badly on your best pitch, why not keep throwing it?

I'll grudgingly admit that Duffey did manage to get by with almost all fastballs for four innings. He does move it around the zone pretty well, and his two-seamer tails away really well on lefties. However, after a couple times through the lineup, the Rays were squaring up on Duffey's heat and blasting some frighteningly hard line drives.

Part of the problem may have been posture. It seemed like Duffey was starting to stoop over a little in the fourth and fifth innings, which was making his fastballs flatten out and lowering his release point. Stand tall, young man! I'm also wondering if throwing so many curves was starting to make Duffey's elbow sore. Putting so much spin on a curve really torques that forearm.

In one respect it was good to see Duffey survive without the curve, but it also highlights the need for him to find one more reliable pitch, perhaps a better change-up. Meanwhile, if it's not a physical issue, I would dearly like to see Tyler Duffey get back to pitching backwards. His curve is his best pitch. Use it!