When one thinks of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, power, pitching and tradition come to mind.
When one thinks of the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox… well, loyal fans might be questioning what exactly the two teams stand for after they practically outdid each other not to win on Thursday. In fact, given the way both teams played, I would expect them to still be playing, perhaps in the 60th inning by now, hoping that someone breaks the deadlock and finally scores the winning run.
I say that because the Twins and White Sox on Thursday were 0-FOR-24 WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION. Yes, you read that correctly. How did they score? The Twins’ Logan Morrison hit a solo home run, the White Sox tied the game on a bases-loaded walk issued by Fernando Rodney, then the Twins scored the go-ahead run… ON A BASES-LOADED WALK. It took 13 innings, but the Twins finally prevailed 2-1 to avoid the sweep. The Twins scored seven runs in their three-game series with the South Siders.
Thursday’s game produced some ugly numbers:
-Runners in scoring position: The Twins were 0-for-9, while the White Sox were 0-for-15.
-Number of men left on base: 26; 13 for each team.
-Number of pitchers: 14; seven for each team.
-Stolen bases: Six, yet the final score was 2-1.
-Number of extra-base hits: Four in 13 innings.
-Time of game: Four hours and 51 minutes.
The Twins now head to Wrigley Field for a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs. Jose Berrios gets the ball Friday.
This fan base was so damn ready to fall in love with the Twins. The second half of last year rekindled the passion and this year was supposed to prove they were for real, a consistent contender built around an exciting young core. Instead, they're all but done before July. Shit.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 28, 2018