Ober was pitching a one-hit shutout when Baldelli took him out.
What was Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli thinking when he decided to replace Bailey Ober after the breakthrough right-hander had mowed down 15 straight Royals and had used only 83 pitches while allowing one hit over seven shutout innings Saturday night?
“When you’ve got a two-run lead in the eighth inning, you should win the game. Period,” Baldelli said. “When you aren’t able to complete it, it’s going to frustrate everybody. And it should. We it to two very good relievers, guys we have trusted in that situation. Today, the Royals just found a way to find some spots."
There's no telling what would've happened if Ober had been allowed to stay in the game, but the Royals had just one hit — an infield single off the bat of Robbie Grossman to start the third inning — and there wasn't really anything to suggest that Kansas City was about to figure him out, especially considering Ober got through the heart of the order in the seventh inning.
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