ST. PETERSBURG — The Twins’ bullpen has been reshaped in recent weeks, as they look to find the best group of arms to push them towards the playoffs.

But for much of the year, Jorge Alcala, Cole Sands, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran have formed the core of the bullpen, serving as reliable pieces near the end of games.

That group, plus Ronny Henriquez, helped the Twins capture their second straight win, this one a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Tropicana Field, after it was pressed into duty early.

Starter Simeon Woods Richardson’s night ended early — after just 3 2/3 innings — at which point Alcala entered to extract him from a jam with a runner in scoring position.

Woods Richardson gave up three runs in his short start on six hits, allowing the Rays to take the lead in the first inning after the Twins had jumped out to a lead of their own in the top half of the inning on a Royce Lewis RBI double.

Two innings later, Woods Richardson gave up another run, cutting into the Twins’ lead, which they retook in the second inning on Trevor Larnach’s line drive home run to right field, which came off the bat at 112.5 miles per hour.

While the Rays pulled back within a run, Larnach’s home run wound up giving the Twins a lead that the bullpen would successfully protect for the rest of the game.

Alcala (4-3) wound up throwing 1 1/3 innings, working around some trouble of his own in the fifth inning. Henriquez threw a clean sixth inning and Jax struck out two facing the heart of the order in the seventh inning.

Sands handled the eighth inning, giving up a home run to Jonny DeLuca, the only run the group gave up in its collective 5 1/3 innings pitched, before Duran nailed down his 21st save of the season.

The group got slightly more breathing room in the top of eighth inning when switch-hitting rookie Brooks Lee, back from the injured list a day earlier, hit the first right-handed home run of his career. It was the Twins’ first run since the second inning.

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Center field was the center of attention on Monday afternoon at CHS Field, with players representing the present and the future of the Twins joining the Saints.

Byron Buxton, on a rehab assignment from the Twins, manned the position against the Iowa Cubs, while 21-year-old Emmanuel Rodriguez made his Triple-A debut as the Saints’ designated hitter.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Rodriguez is rated the No. 3 prospect in the Twins organization (behind outfielder Walker Jenkins and infielder Brooks Lee) by MLB Pipeline. The Twins signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic during the 2019-20 international signing period for $2.5 million.

Buxton, who has been sidelined since August 12 due to right hip inflammation, played seven innings in the Saints’ 11-8 loss. He went 1 for 3 at the plate with a walk.

The left-handed-hitting Rodriguez drove in a run in his first at-bat on a fielder’s choice. He also walked twice and struck out twice. Using teammate Diego Castillo as an interpreter, Rodriguez said he felt proud after making his Triple-A debut.

“I like being here; it’s a big step for me,” he said through Castillo. “I’m going to take advantage of playing with experienced players like Diego Castillo and I’m going to enjoy this time.”

Count Saints manager Toby Gardenhire among those eager to see what Rodriguez can do in Triple-A.

“It’s fun,” Gardenhire said. “He’s one of the big prospects. He’s had some injury stuff. Otherwise, he probably would have been up here earlier.”

Rodriguez sustained a right thumb sprain in May that sidelined him for three months. He appeared in 37 games for Double-A Wichita, hitting .298 with eight home runs. He does not consider the injury to be something that has stalled his development.

“I bet on myself; I know I can do this,” Rodriguez said. “I feel comfortable, and I know I’m going to do a good job.”

Asked if he set a goal of making it to Triple-A this season, Rodriguez said, “For sure, I was thinking about it when I was in Double-A.”

After getting word of the call-up, Rodriguez said he shared the news with his parents, wife and young son back in the Dominican.

Along with his power, Rodriguez is know for a good sense of the strike zone.

“That’s natural to me,” he said. “Since I was a kid I’ve been able to recognize balls and strikes. And I practiced a lot with my brother. With my experience in the minor leagues I’ve kept working on it.”

As for the remainder of the season, Rodriguez said his main focus the remainder of the season is to learn as much as he can. And he’ll always remember that he made his debut with Buxton as a teammate.

“It was great,” he said. “To be honest, I played a couple games with him in spring training. But if feels so good hitting behind him and watching him from the on-deck circle. It was really nice.”

Briefly

Iowa hit three home runs and scored seven runs in the third inning to take an 8-1 lead on Monday. The Saints scored two runs in each of the sixth and eighth innings, and added three more in the ninth before the rally fell short.

Left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick, who has been on the injured list since April 8 due to a left forearm strain, is back with the team and is expected to be activated within a few days. Headrick, who has been used as a starter and a reliever, likely will pitch out of the bullpen.

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There was a hypothetical question recently circulating among the Vikings inside the locker room at TCO Performance Center.

How much money would it take to stop playing football right now?

As some of his teammates offered up certain dollar amounts, veteran running back Aaron Jones was steadfast in his response. There was no amount of money that would suffice. Not a chance.

“I feel like I have a lot left in the tank,” Jones said. “I feel like I could play eight more years.”

Though that might be a little bit of a stretch considering Jones turns 30 years old in a few months, it’s hard to argue with the fact that he still looks the part of an elite player at his position.

After battling injuries during the early portion of last season, Jones got healthy down the stretch and started dominating. He impressively eclipsed the century mark in each of his final five games, helping the Packers go on a playoff run that ended on the precipice of them reaching the NFC Championship game. In total, Jones recorded 102 carries for 584 yards in that span, serving as a catalyst for the offense out of the backfield.

“I was able to show what I could really do,” Jones said. “I felt like I was just about to start entering my prime and then kind of got hurt.”

Now, there’s extra motivation for Jones this season as he attempts to prove that he’s indeed in his prime. He was released by Packers before free agency in a move designed to save some money against the salary cap. He signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Vikings roughly 24 hours later.

“I remember when we got him, I didn’t believe it,” safety Josh Metellus said. “I was like, ‘There ain’t no way this is real.’ They’re crazy for letting us get him. I know he’s excited and I’m worried for everybody who’s got to play us because he’s going to be running hard.”

As the Vikings search for solutions in the running game, the hope is that Jones can do for them what he’s been doing against them throughout his career. The splits speak for themselves as Jones has 149 carries for 847 yards in 11 games against the Vikings.

“He’s been doing it for a long time at a very high level and from everything I’ve seen, he hasn’t slowed down even a little bit,” fullback C.J. Ham said. “I’ve competed against him for so long. We’ve had that mutual respect after every game dapping each other up and telling each other to keep going. Now, to be on the same team with him, I think the sky is the limit.”

It’s safe to say Jones has already made a good impression on his teammates. He’s looked explosive in training camp and it’s not hard to envision him making a big impact if he gets some blocking in front of him.

“He’s special,” left tackle Christian Darrisaw said. “It’s a blessing to have a running back like that. He can make anybody miss whether it’s the first level, second level, or third level. We know if we do our job, he’s going to bust it and make a big play.”

The key for Jones will be staying healthy. His struggles with injuries last season has motivated him to take a more proactive approach ahead of this season, and he can already feel it paying off.

“This is the best I’ve felt,’ Jones said. “I’m ready to have the best year of my career.”

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Royce Lewis played in his 58th game of the season on Monday. It may not sound like a lot compared to, say, Willi Castro, who led off for the Twins in his team-leading 136th game of the year. But it is for Lewis, whose 2020 minor league season was wiped out because of the pandemic and has subsequently had every season since then interrupted by injuries.

As he plays into September, it’s been a process for him trying to learn on the fly what he needs to do to keep his body feeling good every day.

“I don’t know how many games I’m going on, but this is the latest in the year that I’ve gone on a stretch like this,” Lewis said. “The normal stuff that (Carlos) Santana’s done for 14 years now, he has all these tips and tricks to get his body right. But I don’t know, for my body, what to do yet.”

It’s been an evolving process.

He’s tried going in the sauna and cold tub before the game. He’s tried those recovery options after the game. He’s constantly making adjustments — and receiving plenty of input while he does so.

“It starts with about 2,000 people trying to tell you, ‘Oh, do this! Try this! Do this! What’s wrong with you? What are you doing?’” Lewis said. “Just because I hit singles now means I’m a different person, I guess. So that’s where it starts. Just trying to filter and try everything out and filter which one works, which one doesn’t.”

Lewis snapped the longest homerless drought of his major league career on Sunday with a big three-run home run in the eighth inning to propel his team to victory. Also in that game, he played second base for the first time in his major league career, another thing he’s learning on the fly.

The third baseman has not hesitated to express his discomfort at the position shift in-season. Because he has such limited experience at the position — he played in one minor league game there and a handful of Arizona Fall League games before starting to get his feet wet pregame in recent weeks — he said he was “terrified,” at second base on Sunday.

“It’s a new thing. So to add to, ‘OK, I’m trying to work on my body,’ and everyone’s talking to me,” Lewis said. “And people are talking to me because I’m hitting singles and they think I’m a bad hitter now. I’ve got so many things going on and now we’re going to add in second. … We have plenty of really good second basemen and I don’t want to mess up our defense just because we’re going to try something new. It’s not spring training or Triple-A for that matter.”

But despite Lewis’ trepidation at the new position, which he says is mostly because he does not want to mess up in the field during pivotal games while in a playoff race, manager Rocco Baldelli said he liked what he saw of the infielder there.

“I thought he looked good,” Baldelli said. “He made all the plays just the way that he’s made them in all the early work that he’s been doing and sometimes when you’re doing something new, it wakes you up, it keeps you on your toes, it gets you going.”

Buxton starts rehab

Byron Buxton’s return appears to be on the horizon.

The outfielder began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, batting second and playing center field. Tuesday, the Saints have the day off and after that, Baldelli said they’d “see what is to come.” Buxton was 1 for 3 with a walk in seven innings played on Monday.

Buxton has been on the injured list since Aug. 15 with hip inflammation. If all goes well, it seems possible that Buxton could return later on in the Twins’ current road trip, perhaps over the weekend in Kansas City.

“We’re really getting there with Buck,” Baldelli said. “He’s been waiting to get back out there. This is good. It’s the first step, but it’s an important step. Hopefully everything goes well and we can see him back out there with us before you know it.”

Emmanuel Rodriguez promoted

One day in the future, the Twins hope that Buxton and top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez will share a lineup in Minneapolis. Monday, they did it in St. Paul.

The 21-year-old outfielder was promoted to Triple-A after playing in 37 games for Double-A Wichita earlier in the year. He comes to St. Paul after finishing off a rehab assignment for a thumb injury that has sidelined him for much of the summer.

Before he got injured, the outfielder was hitting .298 with a 1.100 OPS and eight home runs during his time in Wichita. Rodriguez, whom the Twins signed in 2019 as an international free agent, is now the No. 21 prospect overall in Major League Baseball and is ranked third among Twins prospects, behind Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee.

Briefly

Max Kepler was scratched from Monday’s starting lineup with left knee soreness. Kepler missed time for the same reason last week. … Magnetic resonance imaging taken on Sunday revealed that outfielder Manuel Margot has a mild right adductor tendon strain. The Twins placed Margot on the injured list on Sunday and he will be down for five to seven days from baseball activities to begin with. Margot, a former Ray, made the trip to Florida with his teammates and the Rays played a tribute video to him, prompting him to emerge from the dugout to tip his hat.

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