It’s called put up or shut up, Twins fans.
After fiery slugger Josh Donaldson traded barbs with White Sox pitcher, Lucas Giolito, on Tuesday, Donaldson stepped up to the plate in the first inning of Wednesday’s game and hit his 13th home run of the season on the third pitch thrown to him.
Donaldson homered off Giolito on Tuesday, then crossed home plate and said, “Hey, it’s not sticky anymore,” a reference to pitchers using foreign substances on baseballs.
Donaldson told MLB.com on Wednesday that his comments were designed to motivate his teammates.
“I’m trying to get our boys fired up and ready to go,” he added, with the fourth-place Twins in the midst of a stretch of 24 straight games within the division. “We’re at a point in our season which is critical. This is do or die for us, going through this stretch. We’re playing with a sense of urgency right now to go out there and win ballgames. Me talking to my teammates and me trying to encourage them and getting them fired up, that’s part of my job. That’s why I’m here.”
If he’s really trying to fire up his team, he might start with Twins pitching because they were terrible on Wednesday. Rookie pitcher Bailey Ober allowed three home runs, Matt Shoemaker served up three more and the White Sox cruised to a 13-3 win. Donaldson’s home run was one of only five hits for the Twins.
Jose Berrios gets the ball on Thursday.
Extra innings…
-The Twins also lost to the South Siders on Tuesday, although they showed a little more fighting spirit. After falling behind 7-2, the Twins rallied for four runs late in the game to make it 7-6, White Sox.
-Kenta Maeda did not pitch well. He allowed seven runs, all earned, on eight hits over four-plus innings with five walks and four strikeouts.
-Nelson Cruz hit his 18th home run in Wednesday’s loss.