Twins completely overreact to Orioles bunting to beat shift in ninth inning

Staff writer

Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 12:53 AM

Baseball is a game full of unwritten rules. Don’t talk about a perfect game. Don’t steal bases with your team up or down by a lot. Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter. Run afoul of one of the many unwritten rules, and you’ll draw the ire of the opposition.

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After Sunday, we have a new unwritten rule to add to that list: Don’t bunt to beat the shift in the ninth inning during a one-hitter when you’re trailing by seven runs. That sounds wordy and specific, but it was enough to set off the Minnesota Twins.

Pitcher Jose Berrios was in the midst of a dominant start against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. He had completely shut down the powerful Orioles lineup, and carried a one-hitter in the ninth inning. The only hit of the day had come via catcher Chance Sisco, who doubled in the third.

With the Orioles trailing by seven in the bottom of the ninth, Sisco came up to the plate again. When he saw the Twins were playing the shift against him, he decided to drop a bunt up the third base line for a hit. Berrios would give up a walk and another hit during the frame, but kept his shutout intact, leading the Twins to a 7-0 win.

Berrios may have recovered on the field, but he and his teammates were pretty angry with Sisco after the game.

Twins were not thrilled with Chance Sisco bunting for a hit in 9th with Berrios working on a one-hitter with a 6-run lead.
Dozier: “Obviously, we’re not a fan of it. He’s a young kid. I could’ve said something at 2nd base but they have tremendous veteran leadership over there."
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 1, 2018

Jose Berrios on Chance Sisco's bunt in the ninth: “I don’t care if he’s bunting. I just know it’s not good for baseball in that situation. That’s it.”
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 1, 2018

Eddie Rosario on the Sisco bunt hit against the shift in the 9th: "Nobody liked that. No, no, no. That’s not a good play." #mntwins
— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) April 1, 2018

We’re not entirely sure what the Twins are upset about. Berrios wasn’t in the middle of the no-hitter or perfect game. He had already allowed a hit to Sisco. So, the bunting shouldn’t matter.

There’s a chance the team is angry Sisco decided to bunt with his team down by seven, but even that seems silly. Sisco was doing anything he could to keep his team alive. It was a long shot that the Orioles would come back, but he was trying to give them a chance.

If you want to argue that the game was out of hand and it was disrespectful, why did the Twins still have a shift on? Here’s how the defense was lined up on the play.

This was the defensive alignment Sisco was facing when he bunted down 7-0 in the ninth. Pathetic of Dozier or any other Twin to complain about Sisco taking advantage in this supposedly non-competitive situation when you're obviously playing as thought it's a competitive situation pic.twitter.com/LX3cvWECDZ
— Matthew Pouliot (@matthewpouliot) April 1, 2018

The Twins might have been up 7-0, but they were still trying as if they were playing in a one-run game. If the Twins are giving that much effort, shouldn’t Sisco be allowed to do the same? The Twins don’t think so. They would rather he just give up and accept his fate.

The Twins will have plenty of time to reflect on how angry Sisco’s bunt made them. The two clubs don’t play again until July. Hopefully, that’s long enough for the Twins to get over a ninth-inning bunt and focus on plays that actually have an impact on the outcome of the game.