Twins

Baldelli upset about strike zone; Twins terrible with bases loaded

"The inning should have been over," manager Rocco Baldelli said of a Tyler Duffey curveball in the eighth inning that resulted in a walk instead of a strikeout. It was a key call in the Twins' 14-12 loss to the Yankees.

By Phil Miller

July 24, 2019 at 7:41AM

Home plate umpire Ramon DeJesus, right, ejects Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, left, after Baldelli complained about balls and strikes in the eighth inning (Howard Sinker/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A few extra notes from the middle of the night at Target Field:

Rocco Baldelli is about as mild-mannered with the umpires as a manager can be, and even in his frustration on Tuesday, even after his second ejection as the leader of the Twins, he went out of his way to compliment home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus and his crew. But Baldelli made it clear he believes De Jesus probably cost his team a victory.

The Twins' lead was tenuous, just 9-8 in the eighth after Blake Parker gave up a walk and three doubles in the span of five batters, and Tyler Duffey was summoned to salvage the inning. He struck out Edwin Encarnacion, and got ahead 1-2 to Luke Voit. But then Duffey fed Voit nothing but low-and-away sliders, the count ran full, and Voit took a 3-2 slider that may or may not have clipped the bottom of the strike zone.

Baldelli was certain it had.

"Well, it was a strike that was called a ball. Ramon had, in my opinion, a fine day behind the plate, [but] in one of the biggest moments of the game," he missed the call, Baldelli said afterward. "I have great respect for the crew out there, and they do their jobs. I also thought there was a check swing [during Voit's at-bat that was ruled no swing]. So there were two times where I thought the inning was over. And I feel pretty confident about what I saw. And the inning ended up going on. And the Yankees ended up scoring because of it.

"Our players, that's what I'm talking about when I say our players earned something, did their part. They did their jobs. So that's what's frustrating about the whole thing."

Baldelli squawked about the call at the moment, but then let De Jesus hear about it with far greater fervor after Ryne Harper surrendered a two-run double to Didi Gregorius, putting the Yankees in front. He was quickly ejected, though he got to make his point to crew chief Larry Vanover, too.

An inning later, James Rowson was ejected by De Jesus, too, after the Twins hitting coach loudly complained from the bench about a high fastball from Aroldis Chapman that the umpire ruled a strike against Ehire Adrianza.

"There were some questionable calls, but I know my limits on what I'm allowed to say," said Twins starter Kyle Gibson, who issued three walks in five innings. "Obviously, the Duffey [pitch] is going to stand out. But Ramon, he's human. He's back there trying to do his best. Maybe he missed a couple, maybe he didn't, but those 50-50 pitches normally go both ways."

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The Twins' bullpen has been shredded for 24 runs during this eight-game homestand (plus three more off infielder Ehire Adrianza), and the games have all been stressful. So it's no wonder that Baldelli expects another change to the roster on Wednesday.

"Our guys have been stretched out pretty thin lately," Baldelli said. "We most likely will have some help coming." But he wasn't ready to announce any transactions.

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The Twins loaded the bases four times on Tuesday, and went 0-for-4 in those situations. Oh, they managed to score a couple runs, one on an Eddie Rosario ground out in the fourth inning, and another on a Jorge Polanco sacrifice fly in the ninth that tied the game. But the game also ended with the bases loaded, too, with Aaron Hicks diving to catch Max Kepler's deep dive.

For all their offense, the Twins confoundingly remain one of the worst hitting teams in the game with three runners on base. Tuesday's failures lowered their batting average to .195 (15 for 77) with the bases full, worse than 28 other MLB teams. Only the Tigers, at .178, fare worse in those situations.

It's bizarre because the Twins are one of the better hitting teams with runners in scoring position; their .271 average ranks third in the American League. But they are leaving so many runs on the field by not getting more clutch hits with bases loaded.

And the problem has gotten worse lately. In their last 28 plate appearances with bases loaded, dating back to June 26, the Twins have exactly one base hit — just one, a Max Kepler bloop single on July 14 in Cleveland that brought home only one run — with three runners on. Over that span, the Twins somehow have more runs driven in via catcher's interference (two) than with base hits (one).

about the writer

Phil Miller

Reporter

Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the Pioneer Press.