Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna appeared to squeeze Liam Hendriks on some pitches Friday night, but neither Hendriks nor Twins manager Ron Gardenhire used the strike zone as an excuse after Friday's 7-6 loss to Cleveland.
"Their guys had to go through the same thing, so it goes both ways," Gardenhire said. "If he's got a tight strike zone, then throw it more over the plate. ... I know [Hendriks is] better than what we're seeing right now, and we want to get it out of him."
Hendriks said: "At the end of the day, they're borderline pitches. If I'm not locating everything in that spot, I kind of don't deserve it. There were a couple [calls] I thought I could have gotten and there were a couple that [Iassogna] gave me. It's not a huge thing."
Some historical perspective
Among MLB pitchers since 1920, Hendriks is tied for the fifth-most starts to open a career without a win, at 16. Here's the list:
Bill Caudill -- 20 (1979-81)
Mike Mohler -- 20 (1993-97)
Craig Anderson -- 17 (1962-64)
Jason Hammel -- 17 (2006-07)
Ray Herbert -- 16 (1950-55)
Liam Hendriks -- 16 (2011-12)
Fred Norman -- 15 (1963-71)
Paul Abbott -- 15 (1990-93)
John Cummings -- 15 (1993-94)
