Vinnie Pestano threw the pitch he wanted to throw against Justin Morneau.
The only problem for Pestano and the Indians was that Justin Morneau was looking for the same pitch.
With neither Cleveland nor Minnesota’s starter making it to the fifth inning, Sunday afternoon’s game was decided by the bullpens. The game featured five lead changes, with Morneau’s walk-off home run against Pestano in the bottom of the ninth proving to be the decisive score in the Twins’ 8-7 win over the Indians at Target Field.
The defeat drops Cleveland to 22 games below .500, tying a season-worst mark originally set on Sept. 2, when they were 56-78.
Pestano came on in the ninth inning with the game tied at 7 and made relatively easy work of the first two hitters he faced, needing a total of four pitches to retire them both.
Then Morneau blasted Pestano’s first pitch — a 92 mph inside fastball — down the right-field line and into the seats. It was the left-handed slugger’s second home run of the game.
“That’s been the MO — lefties always try to jump on me early, they don’t really wait around,” Pestano said. “I threw the pitch I wanted to throw. I didn’t execute very well. He was able to get the barrel out and keep it fair.”
Pestano said he looked to jam Morneau in the past, and even though he thought the Twins slugger would likely be expecting that, he hoped to turn Morneau’s aggression against him.
His strategy was correct. But it backfired.
“I was looking for the pitch that I got — just something to drive, something to pull,” Morneau said. “I faced him a couple nights ago, he jammed me, so I had a feeling he might try to come in there again, and he did and left it over the plate just a little bit, and I just kept it fair enough and we get to jump up and down and have fun.”
The pitch by Pestano was just one in a laundry list of poorly-executed pitches by the Indians, who called on five relievers after starter Corey Kluber struggled.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
