Outfielder Shane Robinson freezes Jerry Sands with 64-mph knuckleball
The Minnesota Twins had a dreadful night on Saturday, losing 17-4 to the last-place Cleveland Indians. But there was a silver lining for all involved.
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With the game obviously well in hand for Cleveland and way out of hand for Minnesota, Twins manager Paul Molitor decided to spare what was left of his decimated bullpen and call upon outfielder Shane Robinson to finish the eighth inning. As we’ve seen an almost shocking number of times already this season, the decision actually paid off quite well as Robinson was able to stop the bleeding quickly.
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His secret weapon? A 64-mph knuckleball, which he used to freeze Cleveland’s Jerry Sands with two runners in scoring position.
Three innings earlier, Sands launched a grand slam off Blaine Boyer, an actual pitcher, so that kind of tells you where his head was at. But Robinson got the best of him, nipping the very edge of the outside corner with expert precision.
Needless to say, we weren’t the only ones impressed.
Robinson inherited a pair of baserunners from reliever A.J. Achter, who failed to retire a single batter in his outing. Robinson faced four batters in total, retiring three and walking one.
After the game, Robinson attempted to explain his mindset on the hill and how he approached catcher Chris Herrmann about possibly throwing the knuckleball. It was somehow more entertaining than the performance itself.
After one run scored on a ground out, Herrmann obviously changed his stance. Robinson also gave home-plate umpire Mike Everitt a heads up that his special pitch might be coming.
Everitt wasn’t fooled when it came. He didn’t hesitate ringing Sands up.
As for the walk to Mike Aviles.
Awesome stuff from Robinson.
If it’s a once-in-a-career opportunity, he certainly made the most of it. Then again, based on that knuckler, maybe there are more days like it just around the corner. We surely wouldn’t be disappointed.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
