The Minnesota Twins lost 3-1 last night in a close game where both teams struggled to get the big hit.
Twins Lineup:
RF Max Kepler
3B Josh Donaldson
SS Jorge Polanco
DH Nelson Cruz
1B LaMonte Wade
CF Byron Buxton
LF Jake Cave
C Willians Astudillo
3B Ehire Adrianza
White Sox lineup:
SS Tim Anderson
C Yasmani Grandal
1B Jose Abreu
LF Eloy Jimenez
DH Edwin Encarnacion
3B Yoan Moncada
CF Luis Robert
RF Nomar Mazara
2B Nick Madrigal
The #MNTwins left 15 runners on base including leaving the bases loaded 3 times.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios didn’t have his best stuff but he still only allowed just 1 run over 5 innings & the bullpen did pretty good until the 8th when LHP Taylor Rogers walked the first 2 batters forcing the Twins to bring the infield in with Adam Engel pinch-hitting for Nomar Mazara because the bunt was definitely in play. Engel even tried to bunt on the 1st pitch then hit an RBI-single up the middle that sure looked like it would’ve been a double play. Tim Anderson then hit a 1-out double on a pitch left up to score another run which brought Rocco out to bring in RHP Jorge Alcala and he struck out the final 2 batters with 2 runners in scoring position to give the Twins a chance in the top of the 9th.
They got the tying run to the plate when Byron Buxton hit a 2-out line-drive to left field that went off Eloy Jimenez’ glove then got stuck under the padding. Buxton ran all the way home but the call was reviewed and overturned to be a ground-rule double but the Twins still had the same chance to tie the game with a runner on & down by 2 as they did if that play was called a HR and they were only down by 1.
That call wasn’t why the Twins lost the game.
A big controversy developed because a lot of fans were accusing White Sox OF Eloy Jimenez for being lazy by just throwing up his hands but that’s how an outfielder signals to the umps that the ball is “dead” or unplayable. If they try to get it then can’t or it’s difficult, it’s then too late to hold that to a double so Jimenez played it exactly how he should have.
The other thing is the umps miss the call initially and/or they let the play go because they know now they can just look at the replay and correct the call later. If they immediately call it a ground-rule double and then it’s challenged/reviewed, how do they know how far the runner would’ve advanced if it’s determined to not be a ground-rule double? It was annoying at the time but after looking at the play, it was done the right way. Did they mean to do it that way? Well, that’s a different story & one we will likely never know.
Here’s why I believe the right call was made. If you watch the replay, the ball has plenty of pace to bounce off of the wall but it stops under the padding. If you watch even closer once you know where the ball is going to stop, you can see the padding change to show it’s stuck.
It doesn’t matter how hard it is to get the ball out from under the padding, it’s that it stopped or got stuck. Here’s how the rule reads:
“Any fair ball which, either before or after touching the ground, passes through or under a fence, or through or under a scoreboard, or through any opening in the fence or scoreboard, or through or under shrubbery, or vines on the fence, or which sticks in a fence or scoreboard, in which case the batter and the runners shall be entitled to two bases;”
The Twins could’ve won that game. They put themselves in a position to win and had a chance to tie the game in the top of the 9th. Will this game be the difference at the end of the season?
Game Stats & Highlights HERE!
Who knows but they have to put it behind them and focus on tonight’s game at 7:10pm on FOX Sports North:
Twins RHP Randy Dobnak (6-3, 3.61 ERA, 1.28 WHIP)
vs
White Sox RHP Dan Dunning (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)
Let’s see how these Twins respond to that loss!
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