Eddie Rosario's fifth-inning throw to the plate in Thursday's game, preserving the Twins' two-run lead by throwing Matt Olson out, was still a popular topic on Friday. A's manager Bob Melvin gave credit to Rosario for "coming up with it clean and [making] a great throw."
But Olson's 6-5 height probably was a big factor in the play, Melvin said, given that catcher Mitch Garver slapped the tag on Olson's helmet, just a split-second before his foot touched the plate. "The height is what got him. If he tags him anywhere else but the helmet, he's safe," Melvin said. "So that probably did come into play. … About as close as you can get."
Should Olson have tried to slide head-first, perhaps reaching the plate faster? Melvin didn't like the idea.
"At home, you really don't want anybody sliding head first," Melvin said. "It can be instinctual, but when you start running into the catcher, you can break fingers and so forth. I really thing the upright position that [Olson] was in was the difference between being out and safe."
It was a big play and a big loss, considering it dropped the Athletics 1 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West. Tonight, the Twins will try to stretch their winning streak to two straight behind Jake Odorizzi. The Twins will face Sean Manaea, a lefthander who gave up six runs in four innings against the Astros on Sunday. With a lefty on the mound, Miguel Sano returns to the lineup after a day off, and Robbie Grossman goes to the outfield, with Jake Cave available on the bench.
It's players' weekend around MLB, so the Twins will be wearing baby-blue uniforms with the throwback Twins logo on the front, and nicknames on the back. Among them: Gabriel "Little Guardado" Moya, who wears it in tribute to bullpen coach Eddie Guardado, another lefty reliever who was fearless just like him, Moya said. Grossman, however, stuck with "Grossman" on the back. Why? "I worked too hard to get my name on the back of a major-league uniform to wear anything else," he reasoned.
Here are the lineups for tonight's game:
ATHLETICS
Nick "Tini" Martini LF
Matt "Chappy" Chapman 3B
Jed "Capt. Barrel" Lowrie 2B
Khris "KD" Davis DH
Matt "Oly" Olson C
Stephen "Momo" Piscotty RF
Marcus "Sauce" Semien SS
Mark "Tom Ace" Canha CF
Jonathan "Luc" Lucroy C
Sean "Manaelator" Manaea RHP
TWINS
Joe "Mauer" Mauer DH
Logan "Logie Bear" Forsythe 2B
Eddie "Edisito" Rosario LF
Jorge "Chulo" Polanco SS
Miguel "Boqueton" Sano 3B
Tyler "TA" Austin 1B
Max "Rozycki" Kepler CF
Mitch "Garv Sauce" Garver C
Robbie "Grossman" Grossman RF
Jake "Odo" Odorizzi RHP