On Saturday, during the first game of a doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins, third baseman Zach McKinstry had a forgettable 12th inning. With the score tied at 4-4, Ryan Jeffers hit a bouncing grounder to third base that went through McKinstry’s legs, resulting in three runs being scored for Detroit and a 7-4 lead. Despite having two outs, the Twins continued to score with McKinstry on the mound due to a mistake by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, leading to four more runs being charged to McKinstry.
McKinstry, who finished last season as a Gold Glove finalist, admitted that he made a mistake in trying to make a play that did not go as planned. He explained that he played himself into a bad hop and got too aggressive, resulting in the crucial error. The eight runs scored by the Twins in extra innings were their most in franchise history since 1970, also against the Tigers, as reported by ESPN Stats and Information.
While reflecting on his performance during the 12th inning, McKinstry joked that serving up a walk and a home run was not exactly how he wanted to move on from his earlier error. Despite losing the first game of the doubleheader with an 11-5 scoreline, Hinch accepted responsibility for his mistake in mismanaging pitching changes during the earlier game.
