One pitch changed the course of the game Tuesday at the start of a critical series between the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins.
Indians starter Danny Salazar thought he had a strikeout to end the third inning, but his full-count fastball to Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar was called ball four by plate umpire Tom Hallion.
Salazar (13-9) didn't shy away from voicing his opinion on the one call he felt impacted the outcome of Cleveland's 3-1 loss.
"Right now, as a team, we can't be losing games," Salazar said. "And the umpires know these are really important games. They can't be missing calls like that."
Three batters after the walk to Escobar, Salazar had given up three runs, which was all the Twins needed against the right-hander. Ervin Santana pitched strong into the eighth inning, while Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier each had two hits and an RBI from the top two spots in Minnesota's lineup.
"In the inning they strung hits together, it's a shame because he probably had Escobar struck out," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Those are their runs for the night, but it was too much for us."
Salazar finished six innings with five hits, three runs and three walks. He struck out four. It was the first time in three starts this year against the Twins that Salazar was hit with a loss.
"I could have gone, like, seven, eight innings easily today," Salazar said. "Because of that bad call, it cost me 20 more pitches and three runs."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
