With two runners on and no outs in the ninth inning of a tie game Tuesday, the Twins were in a potentially game-deciding jam. Jonathan Schoop defused it with a double-play relay so fast, it almost seemed like sleight-of-hand.
"Schoopie's ability to turn a double play is as good as anyone in baseball from the second base side of the bag," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the play, in which Schoop's strong arm retired Jose Abreu by a split second. "His ability to create velocity from a standstill is extremely impressive."
To everyone but Schoop, apparently. The 27-year-old infielder practically apologized for his throwing Wednesday, saying, "Honestly, I don't want to brag, but this year, my arm isn't as good [as when he was an Oriole]. It's good, but it's not my best."
The reason, Schoop said, is that he's changed teams, and his training routine.
"I used to throw a lot of long toss, me and Manny Machado," Schoop said. "The first game of every series, Manny and I would throw long-toss. This year, I didn't do it at the start and now I don't want to force it."
Nobody is complaining. Schoop has been a part of 60 of the Twins' 124 double plays despite playing only 103 games.
"I really can't think of anybody in baseball that's going to get it over there better than he does," Baldelli said. "Maybe he says [his arm's not as good]. It still looks pretty damn good to me."
Romo on Bochy
Sergio Romo was in the Twins bullpen as usual Wednesday, but he wouldn't have minded being in Boston for one night. At Fenway Park, the Giants won their third straight game, and in doing so, made Bruce Bochy the 11th manager in history to win 2,000 games.
Romo played for Bochy over the first nine seasons of his career, helped win three World Series, and formed a lifelong bond with the manager, who plans to retire at the end of the season.
"When I was getting my first [major league] opportunity [in 2008], I was one of 16 debuts. Go figure, he trusted me," Romo said. "I was one of the guys he believed in, and he always showed me that confidence. It never wavered."
Neither did their relationship. After Romo signed with the Dodgers in 2017, Bochy stayed in touch, even texting him with birthday wishes March 4 every spring. In May, when the Giants visited Miami, where Romo was pitching for the Marlins, "he still gives me the same big old bear hug, puts his big paws on me and he says, 'Are you ready to go today?' I'm like, 'You know I'm on the other side, right?' And he said, 'Aw, it's hard to forget.' We had some good times."
Kepler in good spirits
In the interest of truth in advertising, Max Kepler — who for the past three seasons has been heard on Twins radio broadcasts endorsing the Center for Diagnostic Imaging "whenever I need to get a scan" — was asked Wednesday where he went for his MRIs, which were taken twice in the past 10 days to make sure there is no serious injury in his back.
"CDI, of course," affirmed Kepler, who recorded the commercial in 2017 on the recommendation of the Twins, who had asked him if he'd be interested in any endorsements. It's an unusual sales pitch, because c'mon, how often does a healthy 26-year-old athlete really need a scan?
"Well, twice this year," Kepler said earnestly.
So were both at the same place?
"No," Kepler replied, slipping into his enthusiastic pitchman voice. "CDI has eight locations throughout the Twin Cities."
The outfielder, by the way, said he feels better all the time, but he was out of the lineup for a fourth straight day Wednesday.
"The more we can stay away from him in the near term, the better," Baldelli said.
