Twins need reliable bullpen arms. Could one of them be Scott Blewett?

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It happens often in the majors, a guy gets called up from Triple-A, eats some innings for the big league club and is immediately sent back to the minors because he won’t be available the next day.

It happened to Scott Blewett after his first appearance with the Twins. After finishing an 8-3 victory over Kansas City with a 1-2-3 ninth on Aug. 12, the right-hander was sent back to Class AAA St. Paul.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was glad it didn’t happen after Blewett’s second appearance with the big league club this season. After the Twins fell behind Atlanta, 9-1, on Monday, Blewett came in and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and fanning three to give the Twins a pulse.

“He worked through that. After getting smoked (in the first two innings), he worked through it and got the job done for us,” Baldelli said. “Being able to give him some more opportunities will be good.”

Certainly the Twins need reliable bullpen arms after releasing left-hander Steven Okert and right-hander Trevor Richards this week. They picked up Michael Tonkin off waivers on Tuesday and the veteran right-hander was available for Wednesday night’s series finale against the Braves.

The Twins entered the game having lost 7 of 9 after closer Jhoan Duran got rocked in an 8-6, 10-inning loss on Tuesday.

“You’re always looking for guys to step up, and you don’t know if they’re going to do that from the very beginning of the year, at some point in the middle, or sometimes even September,” Baldelli said Wednesday. “You could start calling on a guy for a role or a spot and all of the sudden they start looking pretty good, pretty quick. That can happen, too.”

Maybe that could be Blewett, who, by his own accounting, is a much different pitcher than the one who made three appearances with the Royals in 2021 before bouncing around the minors and pitching last fall in Taiwan. He’s been 98 mph on the radar gun and hasn’t walked a batter in his two appearances with the Twins this month.

Throwing a fastball, splitter and slider, he has allowed two hits, struck out four in four innings. It’s a small sample size, but it’s a good one — and he’s throwing that heat for strikes.

“It’s probably the hardest I’ve thrown my entire career,” he said.

At midnight Sunday, major league active rosters will expand from 26 to 28, with a limit of 14 pitchers. Baldelli said he assumes the Twins will add a pitcher from St. Paul — Louie Varland and Josh Winder appear to be the most likely candidates — but the Twins need more from some of the bullpen arms already here.

Blewett might not have figured prominently in Minnesota’s plans when the Twins signed him to a minor league deal in January, but he’s here now and trying to make hay while the sun is shining.

Asked how he’s approaching his third stint with a major league club, Blewett nodded toward a quote on the wall of the Twins’ clubhouse, a quote from late hall of famer Kirby Puckett: “Don’t take anything for granted, because tomorrow is not promised to any of us.”

“This is the highest level in the world, so just being able to go out and take each opportunity as they come like a brand new one and not get too far ahead of myself is, I think, the best way to take it,” Blewett said. “The quote up there from Kirby Puckett probably says it best, you know? Live for today.”

Buxton close, Correa not

Outfielder Byron Buxton ramped up his rehab with more baseball activities on the field before Wednesday night’s game. He’s been on the injured list with hip soreness since Aug. 13 and missed his 15th consecutive game on Wednesday.

The Twins will send Buxton out on a rehab assignment with St. Paul before he returns to the big league club. When that will start remains up in the air.

“We’re still waiting for some clarity on that, but he’s doing fine,” Baldelli said, adding, “I think we should actually have a better feel for that in the next 24, 48 hours.”

Carlos Correa, doesn’t appear as close. Out since just before the all-star break with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the all-star shortstop continues to rehab but hasn’t been able to run at full speed, a requirement for him starting a rehab assignment.

Good news for Paddack

A magnetic resonance imaging exam on Chris Paddack’s right arm revealed that his the forearm strain that’s had him on the IL since July 17 has completely healed.

He reported feeling 100 percent and will begin throwing long toss at about 60 feet, the club said.

That’s good news, but it also suggests Paddack won’t be available for the rest of the regular season. He returned from Tommy John rehab last fall to pitch in the postseason for the Twins, throwing 3⅔ scoreless innings against Houston in the Division Series.

Oak Park Heights: Stillwater man suffers medical emergency and dies after crashing pickup

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A 62-year-old Stillwater man died after crashing his pickup Wednesday morning in Oak Park Heights.

The man was driving south on Stillwater Boulevard, just south of 55th Street, around 9:15 a.m. when his black 2019 F-150 pickup struck the center median, knocked over a few signs and then went into a ditch on the west side of the roadway, said Sgt. Brian Zwach of the Oak Park Heights Police Department. He was wearing a seatbelt.

Emergency personnel attempted CPR and other life-saving measures, but the man, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was pronounced dead on scene, Zwach said.

It is believed that he suffered a medical emergency before the crash. There were no signs of trauma.

A number of witnesses called 911 to report the accident; officials also received a crash-notification alert from the vehicle, Zwach said.

Lakeview EMS, Lake Elmo Fire Department, Bayport Fire Department, Bayport Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.

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‘Poltergeist’ house in Simi Valley finds a buyer after 45 years

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The owners of the Simi Valley house from the 1982 horror film “Poltergeist” have accepted an offer on the property just days after listing it for $1.175 million.

But the sales price is still unknown.

Located in the Forest Hills neighborhood, this 2,373-square-foot house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It sits on a third-acre-plus lot with a backyard pool and spa.

The house was newly built when it sold in October 1979 for $143,500.

“Well-loved by its original owners, this charming … home is ready to welcome a new family, without the ghostly antics, we promise,” reads the listing, with a wink-wink reference to the film dreamed up by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper.

While it’s sure to bring back vivid memories of supernatural mayhem in a neighborhood of rows and rows of ordinary middle-class homes in mostly barren hills, there is nothing eerie or unsettling feel about the actual setting.

Natural light floods the living room through large windows. The formal dining room leads to the kitchen, which remains as it was on film, but with updated appliances.

A fireplace warms the family room, which boasts a built-in office space but can double as a fifth bedroom.

The upstairs primary bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and spa-inspired bathroom with a large bathtub, dual sinks and a separate shower. There’s also a walk-in closet.

Lauren Murdock of Equity Union is the listing agent.

Champlin man sentenced for assaulting Washington County deputies during traffic stop

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A Champlin man has been sentenced to consecutive probationary sentences and jail time for physically assaulting, spitting on and threatening law enforcement officers during a traffic stop in Hugo.

Anyeth Deng, 27, was found guilty in May by a jury in Washington County District Court in Stillwater of three counts of felony fourth-degree assault against a peace officer and one count of threats of violence after he assaulted and threatened two Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies during a traffic stop on Sept. 30, 2021.

Washington County District Court Judge Helen Brosnahan on Tuesday sentenced Deng to stayed prison sentences, ranging from a year to 18 months, and imposed consecutive probationary terms, meaning Deng will be on probation for a total of six years, as well as a total of 120 days jail.

Brosnahan “clearly understood the serious nature of Deng’s crimes and gave him the toughest sentence she could under the circumstances,” Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson said Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, Deng, driving a black sedan with tinted windows, was pulled over on Frenchman Road in Hugo for having a tinted license plate cover and other equipment violations. When deputies approached the vehicle, Deng was verbally confrontational, the complaint states. Deputies also detected the odor of marijuana.

After Deng stepped out of his car, he refused to remove his hands from his pockets and refused to follow other orders. He became physically aggressive when the deputies attempted to place him in handcuffs, and he punched a deputy in the head and face four times with a closed fist.

While the deputies were taking Deng to the ground to control him, a deputy suffered an injury to his head that resulted in bleeding. Deng continued to be combative after other officers arrived to assist in putting him in the squad car. He “mule-kicked, tried to bite a deputy, spat on both deputies, and damaged the squad vehicle,” according to officials. While being transported to the Washington County Jail in Stillwater, Deng made “repeated graphic and violent threats against the second deputy and his family to be carried out once he was released the next day,” officials said.

“Assault is not somehow less serious because the victims are peace officers,” Magnuson said. “I am very concerned about anyone who believes they are above the law, especially when it involves violence against police or correctional officers. … I am grateful for the jury’s verdict and Judge Brosnahan’s sentence in this case.”

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