Joe Crede Powers Minnesota Twins Win with Walkoff Grand Slam

Wednesday’s Twins-Tigers game very nearly included everything. There were, after all, about five hours of baseball involved, so that left time for an interlude of great pitching (followed by a bit of a collapse), an audition for a faded star to return to the lineup, a manager ejection, a surprise last-legs tie, a deadly balk, and a grand finale in which the word “grand” modifies slam.

Act One: pitchers at work. The Tigers handed the ball to Dontrelle Willis, whose rise and fall have been equally precipitous. Last year, Willis was the cherry on top of the massive Miguel Cabrera trade, potentially giving Detroit an unstoppable rotation. Lots fell apart last year for the Tigers, including every aspect of Willis’ control.

In his first start of 2009, after time on the DL with an anxiety disorder, Willis seemed happy to be back on the mound, and managed reasonably well for almost five innings.

True, he gave up a two-run homer to Justin Morneau in the first, but the pure wildness of last year was gone. So, too, was the cartoon-grade high leg kick, which is now a kinder, gentler push off.

You would not rush to claim Willis off the waiver wire based on tonight’s performance, but neither would you doubt he might have some value in a five-man rotation for the Tigers. He gave up four runs but appeared to be happily chatting with himself on the mound, the personification of “just glad to be here.”

Glen Perkins started for the Twins and for three innings was Mr Efficiency. He got nine outs on 24 pitches, taking advantage of the Tigers’ collective zeal for impulsive swings. But give Perkins credit for fooling them so well. His control was great, and he and catcher Joe Mauer had a sharp approach to each hitter.

Comes the fourth inning and suddenly he’s pitching in a different game. First, all the Detroit hitters seem to have had a little a-ha moment, and are now studying pitches like they contain the secret of the universe.

Second, home plate umpire Paul Schrieber has become distinctly erratic in his ball and strike calls. Neither pitcher has been enjoying the roulette quality of the umpiring, but now Perkins has lost the key to satisfying Schrieber. After walking two, Perkins stops merely doubting Schrieber and plays along by losing the strike zone.

What is control? Willis used to have it but has spent the last three seasons heading downhill. He may never have another stellar game, and may be fighting for control every time.

Perkins has had interludes in every game in which he pitches with great clarity of purpose and control. But tonight he issued three walks in the fourth, and a single from Adam Everett scored two.

What Perkins had to start the game has disappeared. He stares moodily at the umpire, and Mauer trots up for a steadying chat, but it appears that after failing to get some strike calls, Perkins has unraveled.

Control is a property squarely in between physical prowess and psychological confidence. You’ll need both to control a baseball pitch, and the balance is delicate. Perkins lost his for the night; Willis is now experimenting with new methods for pitching with a great deal less on the confidence side.

Act Two: rally duels. Though the starters stayed in, the innings became much less tidy, and both teams trade off scoring. In the top of the fifth, with Twins up 4-2, the Tigers inched closer when Curtis Granderson turned a walk into a chance to score from third on a wild pitch. Perkins’ control issues reached orange alert, and the Tigers were behind by only one run.

In the sixth, Perkins gave up a two-run homer to Brandon Inge, and the pendulum seemed to shift.

When the Twins come to bat, they promptly answered back, collecting three runs that key off a triple from Denard Span. Now the score is 7-5 Twins, but that's not a big lead. And the Twins bullpen is not where you go for safety and comfort these days.

Indeed, in the seventh inning, as Matt Guerrier relieved Ayala, the power-packed Tigers got homers from Cabrera and Jeff Larish. Cabrera’s comes after a walk and a double, so the Tigers are back on top, 9-7.

Act Two, in which both squads keep pounding, had its climax in the eighth. Mike Redmond got one of his unadorned singles to the opposite field and Jason Kubel came to the plate.

Two runs down, the Twins way is generally to keep the train cars moving one by one, but Kubel has a special little love for the long ball, and he crushed one to right. Game tied, and everyone wanted to rub Kubel’s recently buzz-cut head in the dugout.

Act Three: the siege. The tie begins to feel like a permanent détente. There are hits and walks sprinkled in, but neither team can mount an attack.

Manager Ron Gardenhire, as he’s done lately, used up Joe Nathan in the ninth to preserve the tie, and then both teams rattled out their relievers, largely to good effect. Jose Mijares made short work of Detroit in the tenth and eleventh.

Remember our umpiring theme for the night. Schrieber remained unpredictable. It’s hard to second guess from a TV picture, but second guess I will.

The quick pace of the first three innings ground to a funeral march as Schrieber showed a real reluctance to recognize a strike. But with the tie in place, he seemed to grow impatient and enlarged the strike zone.

So much so that when Ordonez is called out on strikes to end the eighth, his verbal complaint was met with the umpire’s gentle but insistent nudge on the back. However he meant it, Ordonez heard Clint Eastwood saying Get off my home plate lawn, and Ordonez was further peeved.

Skipper Jim Leyland yelled sufficiently apoplectically to get thrown out of the game. Players touching umpires is verboten; umpires touching players is presumably the same.

It’s the 13th inning, and you get the feeling that players, fans, coaches, umpires, and broadcast announcers have actually witnessed enough baseball to satisfy them. I stay with it, weary but committed to the siege.

It’s nearly 1:00 am EST, and Jesse Crain gave up a triple to Granderson. Granderson is a remarkable player I always find fun to watch, but if this tie is going to be broken, I’d still rather it be done by a Twin.

No luck. Granderson, by accident or keen baseball intelligence, tried an interesting stunt. He’s at third and made a move as if suddenly breaking for home. Crain is rattled, and he rushed his delivery without coming to the requisite stop. It’s a balk. It’s a balk that breaks a tie. It’s the most despised possible balk in the baseball universe.

The Tigers added nothing more, but Granderson may have single-handedly won the game by pure baseball skill and instinct.

Brandon Lyon started his third relief inning for the Tigers. Kubel led off with a single, and the long hitting silence may finally end. Nick Punto came in to run for Kubel, and Span sacrificed him to second.

Now, as an aside, I want to protest that this technique of giving up outs for bases has much less chance of success than many managers believe. I am stricken when I see Span’s weak infield grounder cut us down to two outs, even if the double play is less likely.

I’m feeling a bit doomed here after seeing Granderson stroll home on that fateful balk.

Matt Tolbert singled to left scored Punto. After sliding into home, Punto sprang up with pure joy, his baseball pants dusty and his pocket torn. He’s only been in for one inning of this marathon, but boy is he loving it. Game re-tied.

Joe Mauer had an uncharacteristically lousy at-bat, culminating in a groundout to Lyon that advanced Tolbert to second. I know, I should take back everything I said about sacrifices since Punto’s ability to tie the game was based on one, but I still feel dreary. In fact, nearly five hours in, I can’t say I’m looking forward to more tied baseball.

With Tolbert on second, the strategy for Morneau was clear cut: intentional walk. Michael Cuddyer got a walk the old-fashioned way, by earning it. The bases were full, but the Tigers are now up to the weakling portion of the Twins lineup.

Joe Crede, who has shown flashes this year, burned his brightest so far: the walkoff grand slam is so exhilarating to watch that I forget what time it is, how many missed opportunities we’ve had, and how dispiriting the siege had been. We’ve made it—outlasted and outblasted the Tigers.