Game 43: Twins at Dodgers

After last nights disgusting umpiring, SooFoo is out sick so you lot are stuck with yours truly. Brave the cursed late night, west coast road trip to see if the Twins can beat Phil Cuzzi I mean the Dodgers.

Here’s the thing. I’m not one to really complain all that much about the umps all that much. The Twins have certainly been the beneficiary of some timely calls so far this season, but last night really irked me. The umps missed two crucial calls that directly led to the Twins’ loss, and none of them were even close. There was the Kirilloff AB in the 10th with the bases loaded and one out, where Cuzzi made it next to impossible to hit. Even the Dodgers’ broadcast knew it was absurd.

And, of course, the David Peralta RBI double in the 8th to give the Dodgers a lead that was clearly a foul ball. Fun fact: this play wasn’t allowed to be challenged since it happened right in front of the ump, which raises the question of the purpose of having a challenge system in the first place. If you can’t challenge something that was clearly incorrect, what’s the point?

Okay rant over! No more ump complaints from me.

On the bright side, the Twins showed a lot of resilience and fought back twice against one of the best teams in baseball to force extras, including scoring a run off a closer who hadn’t allowed one in over a month. The offense is still showing some added signs of life and the bullpen was solid once again.

Onto Game 2!

The Dodgers will send out future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw in what is sure to be an emotional start for him. Kershaw’s mom tragically passed away Saturday morning, making this his first game since her passing. It’s hard to imagine what Kershaw will be going through, and even as his opponent today, I’m sure all Twins fans and players are sending Kershaw all their thoughts, prayers, and positive energy.

The Twins will counter with Bailey Ober, who is very tall and very good at throwing a small ball into a small target area.