Tigers 5, Twins 4 – Judges decision

Minnesota Twins v Chicago White Sox
Tigers 5, Twins 4 - Judges decision
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 08: Adalberto Mejia #49 of the Minnesota Twins reacts after hitting Tyler Saladino #20 of the Chicago White Sox (not pictured) with a pitch during the second inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 8, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)

The Moment: Maybe at some point down the road, we will look at the Miguel Sano/James McCann imbroglio as a galvanizing point in the development process of the Twins. For this game, however, the point that swung the momentum was Nick Castellanos’ 6th inning double that untied the game.

The Hero: Castellanos had the go ahead hit late in the game, which will definitely paint him as the offensive hero, but when tensions were heated, he did a great job of yelling at Miguel Sano. Top notch leadership.

The Goat: The thing about Adalberto Mejia was that,yes, he certainly did struggle with his consistency, but I can’t recall a pitcher with a shorter leash. He did give up a pair of home runs, but also struck out 6, and allowed only three runs. Any other starter, and they would work well into the 5th or 6th inning. This isn’t the first time it happened. Now he’s gone, though. More on that later.

The Soundtrack: Young Blood – The Naked and Famous – You have definitely heard this song before, as it has been used in commercials and trailers for countless products and TV shows. Still, you probably haven’t heard it on the radio, because the only Kiwi you have heard on the radio is Lorde.

The Story: After the Paul Molitor decided to pull Adalberto Mejia far earlier than he needed to, Justin Haley came in and made everything weird. Haley hit the Tigers’ JaCoby Jones (his spelling, not mine) in the face with a fastball. The good news is, Jones is ok, just suffering a cut where he was beaned. The bad news is, the Tigers felt the need to charge the Twins with a crime, citing the Unwritten Rules of Baseball. Matt Boyd later threw at Miguel Sano and missed, somehow. There is a lot of Miguel Sano to hit. Sano obviously knew that Boyd did that with some intent, and pointed and yelled at Boyd. Catcher James McCann stepped in, words and shoves were exchanged, and then players were ejected.

The funny part was, since Sano wasn’t actually hit by anything but James McCann’s mitt, he needed to be replaced for that very at bat. The Twins put Joe Mauer in, and he immediately doubled, and then was brought home as the game tying run. Justice!

It was short lived, however. Nick Casellanos came through with a double to put the Tigers back in front, and then came around to score on a McCann sacrifice fly. I guess McCann wins this time. The Twins catcher took a swing the best way he knew how, hitting a solo homer to tighten the game back up, but to no avail. The Twins lost this game and will likely lose Sano for a couple games.

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