NEWSLETTER
How many times can both teams screw up on a single play? How many times can you scream, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!” on a single play? And how might it still turn out to be a comeback, walk-off winner for one of them?
I present the end of the Twins-Tigers game:
Everyone: Ugh. Another night of Minnesota sports. 😥💔
Us: pic.twitter.com/0kjTI7KD0I
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 27, 2022
So let’s run it all down. Here’s the setup: Up a run in the 9th, the Tigers walked the first two batters of the inning, and with the need to advance them, Twins outfielder Max Kepler struck out looking at three straight pitches …
⇒ Then you had Miguel Sano putting the ball in play – well struck, too! – but catchable in right.
⇒ Then you had Tigers right fielder Robbie Grossman whiffing on the catch (a tough one, but catchable).
⇒ Then you had Trevor Larnach unable to score from second base even though the ball went all the way to the wall.
⇒ Then you had a comically terrible relay throw to the plate from Jonathan Schoop – a throw he didn’t even need to rush at that point anyway.
⇒ Meanwhile, you had Sano continuing to run for second base, as you might assume you should on a ball that reaches the wall and with presumed play at the plate coming. But Sano had nowhere to go, because Gio Urshela had to stop at second because Larnach stopped at third.
⇒ Then you had Urshela … forgetting that Larnach existed? Urshela took off for third base on the throw home for reasons completely unknown.
⇒ Then you had Tigers catcher Eric Haase correctly seeing that the Twins were about to be stuck with two runners at third, but instead of just running the ball as close to third as possible before committing to a throw, Haase threw it way too early, which was going to give the Twins a chance to create additional rundowns (or get back to bases).
⇒ But also, the throw was wildly high, allowing the Twins not only to get out of their own baserunning mess, but also allowing the tying run to score with ease.
⇒ And, since the Tigers were still trying to position their fielders for various rundowns, there was no one remotely close to backing up third base on the throw, which thus allowed the walk off run to score, too.
What a mess. What a delightful, bizarre mess. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that many mistakes in such a short time.
