A day later, Ryan Fitzgerald said his pitching arm felt fine. Shows you the benefit of averaging 55 mph with your fastball.

Fitzgerald, a 31-year-old rookie utility infielder, was called upon to get the Twins’ final three outs of Saturday’s 12-3 blowout loss to the Padres. He succeeded beyond his own expectations, retiring Luis Arraez on a popup and Mason McCoy and Ryan O’Hearn on hard-hit fly balls — all in nine pitches.

“If I can do it, anybody can,” Fitzgerald said with a laugh.

Four other pitchers faced the Padres in that game, and each of them gave up at least one run. Which is how he got the chance — once the Twins’ deficit reached eight runs, manager Rocco Baldelli was allowed to use a position player on the mound. It’s an assignment that Jonah Bride, Willi Castro and Kody Clemens have already fulfilled this year, saving innings from an overworked bullpen.

“We were trying to figure out if I was going to go in for Royce or Brooks [Lee], somebody to pinch hit for, so I was getting ready for that,” Fitzgerald said. “Then [bench coach] Jayce [Tingler] said, ‘Hey, you’re probably going to pitch, so go warm up.’ I went in the cages and got a couple of throws in.”

It’s a task he hadn’t attempted in about 15 years, he said.