Twins

9/30 GAME NOTES: Romine Plays All Nine Positions, Perkins Bids Farewell in 3-2 Twins Loss

The game itself didn’t matter, but there were still moments to remember in a 3-2 Detroit Tigers win over the Minnesota Twins. Andrew Romine became the fifth player in baseball history to play all nine positions and Glen Perkins likely threw his last pitch.

Minnesota manager Paul Molitor used this game to try out players on the fringe of the Wild Card roster. Both the Twins and the Yankees will be able to use a roster specifically for the Wild Card game, which they can then change if they make the playoffs. Therefore Miguel Sano could be used in pinch-hit situations and the bullpen can be unloaded since the teams don’t have to carry enough starters for an entire series.

Sano had a 3-0 single in the first inning, but struck out twice and grounded out to third in his three other at-bats.

“Just a few things that we were concerned about — recognition, timing, a little late on fastball, a little early on the off-speed. So not surprising,” said Molitor when asked to evaluate Sano, who played in his first game since being activated off the disabled list.

“He had games like that when he was in midseason form too,” he added, laughing, “so that’s what makes it tough.”

Aaron Slegers went 4.1 innings in his first start since Sept. 6, giving up all three runs (two earned) in the game. Molitor then deployed Dillon Gee, Michael Tonkin and John Curtiss before allowing Glen Perkins to record the final out of the game.

None of the four relievers gave up a run, and only Gee gave up a hit.

Perkins, who grew up in Stillwater, was emotional after recording the final out, crying both in the dugout and then while addressing the media after the game.

“It was a cool moment,” said Perkins after the game. “If that’s it, I’ll remember it the rest of my life.”

“Emotion is good,” Molitor said. “It tells you that you’ve experienced a lot.”

“It was good to get Perk into the game,” added Molitor. “Obviously I wanted to get him in here one of these last couple games this weekend. I’m not sure how it was gonna proceed. We’re still gonna talk about roster things as we finalize after the game tomorrow.

“It just worked out, the moment was right, and two outs in the ninth — he’s been there before, so that was good.”

As for Romine, it made an otherwise meaningless game important — even if it was a bit of a sideshow. He faced Sano in a save situation, becoming the first position player to do so since the stat was first recorded in 1969, and he became the first player in the live ball era to earn a hold.

“It kinda dragged,” admitted Molitor. “The catch and change and the equipment and all that, I think everyone was fairly tolerant of it. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, and they did what they had to do to get him in all nine positions — minimizing the catching and the pitching.”

Between Romine playing all nine positions and Perkins possibly recording the final out of his career, an otherwise meaningless game had a reason to be played. Eighty-five wins would look better than 84, I suppose, but if tomorrow gets rained out, the Twins know they are headed to New York to play a Wild Card game either way — a monumental improvement from 59 wins last season.


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