Another day against Chicago; another rain delay — though this time the Minnesota Twins came out on top.
With the game tied 2-2 heading into the ninth inning, Jake Cave led off with a walk. Robbie Grossman, who was playing in his first game since coming off the disabled list, laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Cave to second. Mitch Garver, pinch-hitting for Bobby Wilson, lined a single to right field but Avisail Garcia threw out Cave at the plate.
On the play, Garver advanced to second which led to the intentional walk of Joe Mauer. Eddie Rosario chipped a single into center field, scoring Garver and giving the Twins a 3-2 lead. Jorge Polanco followed with another single, which plated Mauer and Rosario. On the play, Polanco tried to advance to second base with the throw coming to the plate but was thrown out in his attempt.
Taylor Rogers came in to finish the game with a 5-2 lead and breezed through with little resistance to secure the win for the Twins.
Here’s what we saw from our vantage point
Key Strikeouts
Adam Engel led off the eighth against Trevor May with a single. During the next at-bat, May had Engel picked off but a throwing error allowed him to make it to second safely. Tim Anderson advanced Engel to third with a bunt but in getting to the ball, May slipped and fell. Throwing while sitting on the grass, his throw to first went wide. The Twins then threw around the infield in a comedy of throws — with the end result being Engel getting tagged out and Anderson at third with one out.
Anderson represented the go-ahead run at third. May avoided giving up the lead by striking out Yolmer Sanchez on four pitches and Matt Davidson on three pitches. Of the six strikes thrown to Sanchez and Davidson, three of them were swings and misses.
May left the mound with the game still tied, which proved extremely important as the Twins took the lead in the next half inning. May earned the win as a result.
There are those who will say the “win” is a stat that doesn’t accurately describe how good a pitcher is because there are cases where the win is given to a pitcher who doesn’t seem deserving. Well, May striking out two batters with the go-ahead run at third is about as deserving as it gets.
Botched Rundown
Let’s break down the rundown involving Engel.
Most knowledgeable baseball people will say in a rundown, the out should be made with the runner running back to the base they originally came from. Additionally, on pickoffs where the runner is caught in between first and second — not sliding back into the base – the first baseman should throw to second immediately in case the runner is taught to run head down to second if picked off.
In this case, Mauer should have thrown the ball to second as soon as he gets Engel to commit, which he does about halfway to second. Then the fielder who covers second, in this case, Logan Forsythe, should call for the ball when a possible tag can be applied on the runner which appeared not to happen as Forsythe dodged Mauer’s throw and Engel in fear of being called for interference.
Mauer’s toss to second ended being caught by no one, resulting in an error charged for Mauer and Engel making it to second safely. Lucky for the Twins, the poor defensive moment that could have cost the Twins the lead and the game, did not.
Scoring Without the Long Ball
Way back in the fourth inning, the Twins were behind 1-0, Grossman was up with a runner at second and third. He hit a hard ground ball through the infield to right field, tying the game. With Wilson at the plate, he attempted to safety squeeze Cave home but fouled the ball off his leg.
With Wilson still up, the Twins tried something different. Grossman baited a throw to second on the next pitch. He was tagged out close to first and on the play, Cave hustled home safely. A fake steal of second to score the run executed properly.
Notes
- Joe Mauer collected two hits which is important for him and Twins history. Mauer has 2,084 career hits and is one hit shy of tying Rod Carew for second-most hits by a Twin. Kirby Puckett is the leader with 2,304.
- Kyle Gibson gets the start Wednesday for the Twins. This season against the White Sox, Gibson has allowed eight runs in 13 2/3 innings.
Become a Zone Coverage Member Today!
