CHICAGO — By his own accounting, it has been a rough year for Caleb Thielbar.

“I’ve pretty much stunk the entire year,” he said.

That’s an exaggeration, and if the veteran left-hander feels that way, it’s probably because Thielbar has been the Twins’ most reliable left-handed reliever since Glen Perkins’ third straight all-star season in 2015.

After rejoining his home-state team in 2020, Thielbar went 16-5 with a 3.21 earned-run average and 215 strikeouts in 174 innings over the previous four seasons. So, yeah, it’s been a tough year.

Headed into Tuesday night’s game, Thielbar, 37, was 2-2 with a 5.34 ERA, three saves and a 1.640 WHIP that is, by far, his worst in eight seasons. But the Twins needed him in a pinch on Monday, and the lefty came through big in a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“We got enough strikes,” Thielbar said.

With the Twins nursing a 2-0 lead and two lefties coming up quickly — and Twins lefty Steven Okert on bereavement leave — Thielbar came in and struck out all three batters he faced despite falling behind in each plate appearance 2-0, 2-0 and 1-0.

He was one of four Twins relievers to pitch a scoreless inning after David Festa fanned nine in five innings. In his previous four appearances, Thielbar had pitched at the tail end of three lopsided wins and a 2-0 loss to the New York Mets.

“When you get into meaningful games in a good spot like that, it’s always fun,” he said. “It’s always a lot more fun than the games I’ve been pitching in lately.”

And a step in the right direction. In his past four appearances, he has thrown four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, one walk and two hits.

“I think we really figured out something mechanically that’s definitely doable and easy, and will help stuff tremendously moving forward,” he said. “Not only stuff, but command.”

Buxton out

Center fielder Byron Buxton was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game since crashing into the wall at Target Field while making a catch in the sixth inning of the Twins’ 13-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Monday he anticipated Buxton would be available for the second game, and he was listed on the game card as available. But Baldelli cast doubt Tuesday on whether he would be able to play in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.

“He hit the wall pretty hard when we were at home,” Baldelli said. “His lower back has been a little tight, but we’ll see what later on today and tomorrow look like. That’s kind of the way I’m seeing it. If by chance he’s even not ready to go tomorrow, I have no doubt he’ll be out there on Friday.”

The Twins start a four-game series against Cleveland with a doubleheader Friday at Target Field.

Briefly

Infielder Kyle Farmer, on the injured list with a right shoulder strain since July 12, was scheduled to play seven innings at Class AAA St. Paul on Tuesday night. … Right-hander Justin Topa, working his way back from patellar tendinitis in his left knee, is scheduled to make his ninth rehab appearance with the Saints on Wednesday. … Friday night’s game against the Guardians will be televised by Apple TV, but the opener will be on Bally Sports North.

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