A walk-off, 10th inning, based-loaded walk is not your everyday ending, but the Saints will take it after beating Indianapolis 3-2 on Thursday at CHS Field.
And apparently, the parent club is willing to take a little heat from one of its own when it’s done with the best of intentions.
Matt Shoemaker pitched seven shutout innings, limiting the Indians to two hits while striking out six. While he didn’t get the win, he was the star of the show, and he stepped into the spotlight when he made his postgame comments.
“I’m pitching the opposite of how the Twins wanted me to pitch,” Shoemaker said. “And this is not a bashing of the Twins. The Twins wanted to get more out of me in spring training — I understand that — but unfortunately it failed miserable. Because we’re not all robots, we’re individual people.”
After blanking Columbus on two hits over five innings on July 17, Shoemaker spoke candidly about his lack of success with the Twins. He feels an over-reliance on analytics got him away from how he has been successful in the past, which is to work up and down in the strike zone and change speeds.
Saints manager Toby Gardenhire said after the game that he was not aware of Shoemaker’s previous comments, and Shoemaker said he has not heard from the Twins regarding the things he said.
“When we bring in free agents, our pitching guys look for ways they can help the guy,” Gardenhire said. “I know that’s what they were trying to do with Shoe. He’s a big-league pitcher, he’s just had a tough go of it this year.
“Our hope is that he pitches well here and either he gets another shot with the Twins or someone else gives him a shot.”
Shoemaker looks at it as an unfortunate situation for both sides.
“If I blame anybody I blame myself,” he said, “because I’m the one who did it. I could have said no. Analytics can’t quantify someone’s heart in competition. Knowing what makes me feel good mentally and physically on the mound, to the point where, ‘Hey, I’m going to dominate you guys.’ That’s pitching.’’
With the Major League Baseball trading deadline set for Friday afternoon, and teams always looking for pitching, there is a possibility that Shoemaker could be moved.
“Pitching today, that wasn’t even a thought,” Shoemaker said. “But thinking about it now, it’s nice to be a guy who is wanted by other teams, or the team you are with. Pitching well can open some doors. If a trade is in the works, so be it.”
If he’s not traded, Shoemaker would welcome a return to the Twins if they called him up this season, and he doesn’t rule out signing with them for next season if the Twins are interested.
“I really like the Twins organization,” he said. “The guys up top, the staff, that’s where it’s tough, because I really do like this organization.”
Thursday night, a solo home run by Keon Broxton in the third inning gave the Saints a 1-0 lead. When they pushed across another run in the seventh, with Jimmy Kerrigan scoring on a wild pitch after hitting a double, it appeared the Saints would cruise to victory.
But with Shoemaker out of the game, Andrew Vasquez could not hold the lead in the eighth. He hit the first man he faced before giving up a two-run home run.
