After a one-run loss, Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli was left baffled by the outcome. This game was particularly tough on the Twins. “There was some stuff going on today,” Baldelli remarked.
Several questionable pitch calls and a perplexing rule violation troubled the Twins, who suffered their fourth consecutive defeat on Friday night, 3-2. The Cleveland Guardians secured the lead in the eighth inning with a home run by José Ramírez, following Minnesota reliever Jhoan Duran being squeezed by plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.
Baldelli expressed no disrespect toward Ramírez, acknowledging him as a “great player.” However, he was frustrated that Ortiz had given Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman an advantage by calling two balls that were actually strikes.
“We can say they’re close pitches,” Baldelli said. “They’re strikes. Am I wrong about that based on anything objective that we have to look at? Those things do happen in the game, but that’s why he has to throw a pitch in the zone because he’s behind in the count.”
Ramírez’s homer came shortly after Twins center fielder Willi Castro was called out looking in the top of the inning on a borderline pitch. In the ninth, Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa struck out looking at a pitch that was low.
Earlier, Correa, who endured chants of “Cheat-er” from Cleveland fans recalling his Houston days, was penalized for a rare shift violation.
On the topic of his strikeout, Correa suggested that umpires might be struggling to keep up with the pitchers’ skill levels.
“I feel like pitchers are too nasty right now for umpires to see,” he remarked. “If the umpires knew what was coming and had a Pitchcom (communication device), they would make much better calls.
“It’s really hard for them to accurately call pitches, especially with the way catchers are framing nowadays. If they had a device indicating a slider was coming, they could anticipate where it should start and land for it to be a strike, leading to more accurate calls.
“But since they are essentially guessing, it’s really difficult. I think their job is too tough for me to criticize them harshly. Sometimes I get the calls, sometimes I don’t, and you move on.” In the sixth inning, Correa was called for the first shift violation in MLB this season.
While positioned behind second base, Correa darted to his left, fielded a grounder by Ramírez, and threw him out. However, the Guardians challenged Correa’s positioning, won a lengthy replay review, and Ramírez was granted a new opportunity.
Have the Rules Changed?
Correa mentioned that he’s been positioning himself the same way since the rules changed last season. “I’ve always played it like that. To me, that’s what was in the rule book and it wasn’t, so today I learned something new,” he said with a smile. “Baseball is beautiful.”
Baldelli was frustrated that it took several minutes for the umpires to rule on a play that seemed ambiguous.
“Everything we do in replay has to be definitive,” he stated. “The people in charge have to be able to look at it and say, that’s definitive. I was surprised that we ended up with a definitive call on that. Replay is supposed to ensure we’re getting calls right, that they’re definitive, and we’re certain about them.”
Baldelli acknowledged that the Twins could have done more to secure the win, but other factors worked against them. “There are some guys who are upset in the room, and I’m not happy about it either,” he said. “That’s tough to take.”
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