The Twins found themselves on the losing end of a 1-0 pitcher’s duel Wednesday in Anaheim, as Jered Weaver pitched a two-hit beauty and an Albert Pujols solo shot provided the game’s lone run for the Angels.
Twins starter Mike Pelfrey probably would have won any other day had he not been up against Weaver, who also recorded a season-high nine strikeouts to even his record at 5-5.
Pelfrey, for his part, tallied five strikeouts of his own over six complete innings, allowing just the home run in the first inning while giving up five hits and one walk. But he still took the loss, falling to 4-8 on the season.
Any baseball fan knows low-scoring doesn’t mean boring, and the Twins mustered a rally in the 9th inning after Weaver left the game. But that rally was thwarted by an umpiring non-call.
Clete Thomas started the inning with a walk for the Twins, and the next batter, Doug Bernier, was hit by Angels reliever Ernesto Frieri.
Justin Morneau then hit a weak pop-up to the first base side of the mound, and Frieri let the ball fall to the ground, throwing Morneau out at first and leaving base runner Bernier to be eventually tagged out in a run-down.
That the infield fly rule – which would have ruled Morneau automatically out and left the base runners safe – was not invoked elicited a trip to the field for Manager Ron Gardenhire, but the umpires were unmoved.
Now with two outs and Thomas on third, the previous night’s hero Chris Herrmann – who hit a 10th-inning Grand Slam Tuesday night – struck out to end the game.
Still, the Twins took the three-game series 2-1 after a couple close shaves. Minnesota heads to Seattle to start a four-game series against the Mariners Thursday night.
