The Minnesota Twins have had a tough road trip, but it has nothing to do with their 2-3 record. Instead, the Twins have been on the wrong end of some brutal calls that have altered the outcomes of games and made wins more difficult than they should be.
On Saturday night, the Twins were on the wrong end of another bad call when Jorge López was on the mound to protect a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning. Facing Angels shortstop Zach Neto with a 2-2 count, López threw a 97 mph fastball down the middle of the strike zone…for ball three?
On what planet is that not a strike?!?#mntwins pic.twitter.com/8YjBo1Wnur
— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) May 21, 2023
I know what you’re thinking. Perhaps Bally Sports North didn’t align the strike zone properly? Or maybe this was just a camera trick to make people think it was right down the middle? Nope. It was a fastball down the middle for ball three.
Pitch No. 5 will end up on one of those “worst missed calls of the season” lists. Jorge López did a nice job making sure it was inconsequential. #MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/7HXvbJ80bW
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2023
With a new life, Neto smashed a double down the left field line on the next pitch. López was visibly frustrated after the call and started the next batter, Taylor Ward with a 2-0 count, before Twins pitching coach Pete Maki made a mound visit to help him regain his composure.
The visit worked as López got Ward to ground out before striking out Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to end the inning, but it’s understandable the Twins would be touchy about this sort of thing.
In the first game of the road trip against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, the Twins were on the wrong end of a call that led to a double that eventually tied the game late. In the 10th inning, home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi expanded his strike zone to the Pacific Ocean to put Alex Kirilloff in an 0-2 hole before he struck out with the bases loaded.
The Twins lost that game 9-8 in 12 innings but they were more fortunate this time around. After holding on to defeat the Angels 6-2, Minnesota will go for the series victory – and a .500 record on the road trip – on Sunday afternoon.
