Twins' Jordan Luplow does Craig Kimbrel impression on mound

Twins outfielder Jordan Luplow had a little fun with his second career pitching appearance Friday night. 

The seven-year veteran came in on mop-up duty in the eighth inning with Minnesota down 11-2 against the Phillies in Philadelphia.

Facing his fourth batter of the inning, Johan Rojas, one after plunking Edmundo Sosa with a 50 mph pitch, Luplow posed in a way familiar to most baseball fans. 

With Craig Kimbrel roughly 300 feet away in the Phillies bullpen, Luplow stole his signature pre-pitch routine by hunching over and dangling his right arm by his side as he looked in for the sign. 

“I just felt like it would be kind of funny and make everyone laugh in a tough spot for us,” Luplow said, according to the Star-Tribune. “[The Phillies fans] didn’t really like it too much.”

The crowd booed Luplow for imitating their star closer, but Kimbrel wasn’t phased.

“They pointed it out to me when I was down there [in the bullpen],” Kimbrel said, per MLB.com. “I think at that point he was just having fun.”

But Luplow’s Kimbrel impression only went so far. 

On his second pitch to Rojas, the right-hander crushed a 47 mph eephus pitch into the left-field seats – the first home run of his career, giving Philadelphia a 13-2 lead that would hold. 

Luplow would get out of the inning one batter later, but after the game, he admitted he still has some work to do. 

“I’m not quite Shohei [Ohtani] yet, but we’re working on it,” Luplow said. “I’ve got to get the pitching guys over here and get some work in.”

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