Take away his first start of the season, one during which Bailey Ober was pitching through an illness, and by and large, the starter has put up decent numbers this season.

He has a 2.85 earned-run average since that point and has given up three earned runs or less in every start but his last. But behind the scenes, Ober has felt mechanically off for parts of the season, something that he noted during spring training and again after his last two starts when his velocity dipped.

Ober, who is scheduled to start in the series finale against the Texas Rangers on Thursday, said his Tuesday bullpen felt good, and he believes he’s moving in the right direction — it’s just a matter of time.

“It’s harder to change patterns that are ingrained in how you’ve been throwing,” Ober said. “It’s all about just getting reps and moving the right way. Eventually, it’ll be muscle memory kind of (taking) over. But if you’re throwing for an extended period of time kind of the wrong way, your body is going to revert to that. So now it’s just time to get the reps in throughout the weeks.”

After his last start, Ober said his mechanics felt “not smooth and disjointed,” and he had been putting the work in to try to get his velocity back up. The average velocity on his four-seam fastball is currently 90.4 miles per hour this season, down from 91.7 mph last year.

The issues initially started this spring, Ober said, when he was dealing with a knee, hip issue. Nothing, he said, that would put him on the injured list, but still something that bothered him.

Now, he said, he is doing maintenance to keep his lower half healthy every day this season, and he physically “would like to be better,” but it’s “nothing I haven’t pitched through.”

“I was able to kind of figure it out for a little while at the beginning of the season. Up until mainly the last two or three starts ago,” Ober said. “But the stuff just kind of kicks back to, when something is off, you revert back to the way you were throwing. And that’s unfortunately the way I’ve been throwing. It hasn’t been the most efficient movement-wise. That’s why we’re seeing the lower velos. Just trying to work through it and stay healthy.”

Twins claim Wentz, trade Alcala

The Twins claimed reliever Joey Wentz off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, then traded Jorge Alcala away to Boston, opening up a spot on the roster for the left-hander.

Alcala has had a particularly tough go of it this season, posting an 8.88 ERA across 22 appearances. In his last outing as a Twin, he gave up six runs (five earned) on Tuesday night.

In return for Alcala, the Twins received minor leaguer Andy Lugo, who was slashing .265/.327/.430 at Class-A Advanced Greenville.

Wentz, a 27-year-old southpaw, had been designated for assignment over the weekend after posting a 4.15 ERA across 26 innings this season with the Pirates. He initially came up as a starter with the Detroit Tigers before shifting to relief.

“We’re excited to have him,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s a guy … that can give you length if you need it. But he also has good stuff so it gives you an opportunity to make good adjustments and maybe even help him go beyond even anything that he has been doing to this point.”

To make room on the 40-man roster for Wentz, the Twins moved Pablo López to the 60-day injured list. López landed on the injured list last week with a teres major strain in his shoulder, and the Twins have said he will be out for eight to 12 weeks.

Briefly

The Twins will cap their homestand today with a game against the Texas Rangers that begins at 12:10 p.m. Ober will be opposed by left-hander Patrick Corbin. After that, they will head out on a road trip that will take them to Houston and Cincinnati.