The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins was a much better result for the Detroit Tigers. However, the first game was quite memorable for third baseman Zach McKinstry. With the Twins leading 5-4 in the top of the 12th inning, Ryan Jeffers hit a bouncing grounder to third base that went through McKinstry’s legs.
Detroit scored three runs on the error, putting them up 8-4. Despite trying to make a play, McKinstry admitted that he played himself into a bad hop and got too aggressive on the play. He regrets that moment and wants to forget it quickly.
The Twins continued to score after the error, and McKinstry found himself on the mound due to a mistake by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. Hinch had forgotten that pitching coach Chris Fetter had visited reliever Alex Lange earlier in the inning and had to replace Lange after Hinch walked out to talk to him. McKinstry walked a batter and then gave up a three-run home run, resulting in a total of six runs being charged to him.
Despite his mistakes, McKinstry is determined to move on from this experience and learn from it so he can perform better next time he’s out on the field.”
