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Kenta Maeda might never wear short socks again.
The righthander took the mound for the Twins looking to sustain momentum after his previous start Sunday at Kansas City, the first appearance of the high socks. It was his strongest outing of the season, as he struck out 10 batters in six scoreless innings.
"The last outing, that's what gave me momentum coming into this one," Maeda said through an interpreter. "I had a good frame of mind and I like to have that kind of mind and carry it on to my future games as well."
Maeda struck out seven in five scoreless innings of work Friday night, when the Twins defeated the Tigers 4-2 despite managing only four hits at Target Field. All seven batters he struck out went down swinging. Of the 84 pitches he threw, 52 were strikes, and 17 were swung on and missed.