CLEVELAND — Maybe nobody would have noticed, if Francisco Lindor hadn't found it so hilarious. After the Indians shortstop drew a walk to open the first inning on Tuesday, Twins pitcher Devin Smeltzer tried to hold him close to the bag, and used his best pickoff move to do so.
Marwin Gonzalez wasn't exactly expecting it. The ball hit him on the arm and bounced in front of him. Fortunately for the Twins, it didn't fly past him or bounce far enough for Lindor to advance.
"There was no sign," Gonzalez said after the game. "It's the first time I've played first [with] him on the mound."
Lindor decided to have fun with an old friend. He laughed at Gonzalez. He took off his helmet and offered it to him. He pretended to hide behind him when Smeltzer tried another pickoff move.
"Yeah, he was making fun of me. That was fun," Gonzalez deadpanned, making it sound not so fun. "Thank God it hit me in the arm, and not my chest or face."
Smeltzer, for his part, couldn't understand what happened.
"I haven't fooled anybody in probably four years with that move. But we've been working on it, and today's the first time I've had to break it out," the rookie pitcher said. "I guess it worked. I fooled the first baseman."
Gonzalez wasn't through hearing about the minor mishap, though. His teammates were letting him have it from the dugout, too. But he got the last laugh. On his next at-bat, Gonzalez hit a Shane Bieber pitch into the left-field bleachers.
