Inside the Article:
The Detroit Tigers would ultimately fail to send a base runner across home plate this afternoon against the Minnesota Twins, spoiling what was a perfect game for Joey Wentz in the 5th inning and resulting in their MLB-leading 9th shutout of 2023 – and we’re only barely halfway through the month of June.
Former Tiger Willi Castro spoiled Joey Wentz’s perfect game attempt
It was ex-Tigers player Willi Castro who burned his former team, getting the first hit of the game and spoiling an attempt at perfection from Wentz in the 5th inning. Both players eventually safely reached home plate in what was a 2-0 win for the Twins, their first of the series after having lost the first two.
Wentz allowed only two hits while striking out nine. The Tigers blew a chance to get on the scoresheet after Zach Short‘s sliding attempt to score from 2nd base after a Miguel Cabrera line drive to deep left field was thrown out; the call would be upheld after a brief video review thanks to a Detroit challenge.
Zack Short maintained he thought he was safe
“I didn’t feel anything,” Short said. “I thought he was going to get me (out) for not touching the plate, but I touched it. (The umpire) said they confirmed it, so they must have had a good angle (in New York) that we didn’t see.”
“It’s the fifth inning, 0-0,” Short continued. “They have to make two perfect throws, and they did. We would do it again, 100 times out of 100.”
Manager A.J. Hinch had no choice but to tip the cap to the Twins for what he called a “decisive play.”
“It’s a run-scoring play, and you couldn’t tell if he got him,” Hinch said. “We didn’t have a perfect angle on it. … I couldn’t tell if he tagged him or not. Shorty didn’t feel anything. Reviewing whether he blocked the plate, it wasn’t the case because the throw was outside the line, and the tag, New York (replay review room) confirmed it. That was a decisive defensive play.”
Wrapping It Up: Tigers can take the series tomorrow
There is one game remaining in Detroit’s series against Minnesota tomorrow afternoon at Target Field that will feature another bullpen outing for the Tigers. Should Detroit get the win, they will have taken three of four against their division rival.
As it currently stands, the Tigers trail the Twins by an even six games for the American Central Division lead.
