Twins 5, White Sox 4: Polanco walks it off

This game was looking like just another boring Twins loss, something we’ve seen time and time again this year, until the late innings. Tyler Duffey threw a pitch behind Yermin Mercedes, the umpires convened and then threw out Duffey. Rocco Baldelli came out to argue and he was tossed as well. It seems unlikely that it was an accident, and assuming it wasn’t I’m not sure if this was something Duffey did on his own or if someone told him to do it. We’ll probably never know for sure, unless we invent mind reading (we should not do this).

Bailey Ober got the start today in place of Michael Pineda, and he wasn’t that great; 4.0 IP, 4 R. He did show some potential, though, and wasn’t as bad as Derek Law. This is how low the bar is right now. A solo blast by Jake Lamb and a 2-run homer by Yasmani Grandal were the main damage dealers.

The highlight of this game, other than the ending (spoilers), was definitely Miguel Sano’s 3-homer game, including a two-run blast that tied the game in the 8th inning at 4. Sano now has 4 home runs in his last 4 games, and this was his first 3-homer game of his career.

The White Sox couldn’t score in the top of the 9th, giving the Twins a chance to walk it off. Andrelton Simmons lead off with a single. Nelson Cruz grounded out but Simmons advanced to 2nd on the play. Luis Arraez was intentionally walked, bringing Josh Donaldson to the plate, but he flew out with Simmons going to 3rd. Finally, Jorge Polanco ripped a single into the right field corner to score the winning run and walk off the game!

With that I conclude the 2021 Twins fixed, and they’ll easily win their next 20 games.

Studs:

Sano: He hit 3 HR

The Bullpen(!?): Stashak, Robles, Colome, and Rogers combined for 4.2 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 9.

Jorge Polanco: He won the game!

Duds:

No duds Twins win!

Oh, except for the Unwritten Rules of Baseball, that was a major dud tonight. Tony La Russa’s thoughts?

ROBOT ROLL CALL!