Following a one-run loss, Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli struggled to comprehend what had happened to his squad. This game was very tough on the Twins. “There was some stuff going on today,” Baldelli explained.
The Twins dropped their fourth game in a row, 3-2, on Friday night, thanks to many questionable pitch calls and a confusing rule infraction. José Ramírez’s eighth-inning home run gave the Cleveland Guardians the lead after Minnesota reliever Jhoan Duran was pressed by plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.
Baldelli praised Ramírez as a “great player.” However, he was furious because Ortiz had put Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman in a good position by calling two balls that were actually strikes.
“We can say they’re close pitches,” Baldelli explained. “These are strikes. Is that wrong based on anything objective that we can look at? Those things happen in baseball, but that’s why he has to throw a pitch in the zone since he’s behind in the count.”
Ramírez’s home run came after Twins center fielder Willi Castro was called out looking in the top of the inning for a borderline pitch. In the ninth inning, Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa struck out looking at a pitch that was low.
Carlos Santana hits it and runs.
Correa had previously been penalized for a rare shift violation, prompting cries of “Cheat-er” from Cleveland fans who recall his time in Houston.
Regarding the strikeout, Correa warned that umpires would struggle to keep up with the pitchers.
“I feel like pitchers are too nasty right now for umpires to see,” he stated. “I believe that if the umpires knew what was coming and had a Pitchcom (communication device), they would make calls much more accurately.
“It’s incredibly hard for them to just call pitches, especially with the way catchers are framing lately. If they had a device that said slider and they knew where it had to start and land to be a strike, we would receive a lot of calls.
“But it’s especially difficult because they’re blind. I just think their job is too difficult for me to be harsh with them. Sometimes I get calls, sometimes not, and you move on.” Correa got cited for the first shift violation of the season in the sixth inning by MLB officials.
Correa, playing behind second base, retrieved a grounder by Ramírez and threw him out. The Guardians successfully protested Correa’s unlawful shift, resulting in a lengthy replay review that gave Ramírez new life.
Correa stated that he had been positioning himself in the same way since the rules changed last season. “I’ve always played it that way. That was what I expected from the rule book, but it wasn’t, so I learnt something new today,” he added, smiling. “Baseball is beautiful.”
Baldelli was irritated that the umpires took many minutes to rule on an unclear play.
“Everything we do in replay has to be definitive,” he stated. “Those in charge must be able to look at it and say, ‘That is definitive.'” I was shocked that we came to a firm conclusion on that. Replay is meant to be used when we receive accurate, definitive calls that we are confident in.”
Baldelli recognized that the Twins could have done more to improve themselves, but other things worked against them. “There are some guys who are upset in the room and I’m not happy about it, either,” he stated. “That’s tough to take.”
