Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

MINNEAPOLIS – Nearly seven years ago, Randy Dobnak toed the rubber at Target Field and made his Major League debut for the Twins. He tossed four scoreless innings in relief in a 2019 season that began with him in Class A ball and ended with him making a playoff start for the American League Central champions. Dobnak’s journey was already improbable at that point. He went undrafted in 2017 following his graduation from Alderson Broaddus University, a Division II school in rural West Virginia. He played for the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, a four-team independent ball league in the suburbs of Detroit. The Twins signed him as a free agent in 2017 for $500. Since then, Dobnak's career hasn’t stopped taking twists and turns. He signed an extension with the Twins in 2021, establishing himself as a part of their future. But injuries stalled those plans, and that was Dobnak’s last season in the big leagues until 2024. On Wednesday, Dobnak again took the mound at Target Field. He’s 31 now with two daughters, and his signature mustache has been replaced by a long beard. But he can still pitch, and he showed his former team that with seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 Royals win. “He knows who he is,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He knows what he does well. He doesn’t try to do something else. And he’s poised. He believes in what he’s doing, and he executes.” Dobnak’s seven innings matched his career high, earning his first win in the big leagues since May 21, 2021. “That’s kind of crazy to think about,” Dobnak said. “It’s also kind of funny that it was against the team I was with for nine years. It’s cool.” Dobnak felt a lot of emotion leading up to Wednesday’s start, but once he threw the first pitch, he was locked in. He knew what he needed to do, and he executed. In many ways, he’s still the same pitcher the Twins saw for those nine years – fueled by his sinker, which he added in 2018 at the suggestion of a Minor League coach. It’s a pitch-to-contact weapon, and the Twins put it in play a lot on Wednesday without much success.