Max Kepler felt 'really bad' about scoring after scary Tayler Saucedo injury
It's not the way anyone wants to score a run, let alone the game-tying one.
There was a point late in Tuesday night's loss where it appeared the Minnesota Twins were going to pull out another gutsy comeback.
Austin Martin beat out an infield single in the eighth inning that ended up scoring Max Kepler from second but not for the reason anyone wanted. During the mad dash to first base, Seattle Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo appeared to slip on the bag which caused his leg to bend in a way it shouldn't.
He went down in obvious pain in what was a very tough scene to watch. Amid the chaos, the Twins sent Kepler home from third since it was still a live ball situation. That ended up being the tying run of the game, and looked to be the way Minnesota might take its final steps toward a walk-off win, but it was hard to get too excited about it in the moment.
Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo goes down with an injury and Max Kepler runs home to score the tying run pic.twitter.com/4x9p5dVyZR
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 8, 2024
Fans watching the action had a muted celebration, and after the game Kepler made it known that he wasn't that pleased to have taken advantage of the situation.
Max Kepler felt 'really bad' about scoring after Tayler Saucedo injury
Kepler spoke about the incident after the game and was honest about how he didn't exactly feel great scoring because Saucedo suffered an injury. He said it felt like a 'dick move' to score the way he did, even if he knew that it was a legal play he needed to make.
Still, the fact that he was upset about it says a lot.
Max Kepler knew he had to go on the play where Seattle pitcher Tayler Saucedo was injured, but he didn't feel great about it. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/cPb5ApwZzv
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 8, 2024
Seattle eventually made up for the run by scoring four in the ninth inning to comfortably put a potential comeback by Minnesota on the highest shelf. The Twins were unable to reach it in the bottom half of the inning and were dealt a 10-6 loss.
Minnesota allowed eight runs over the last three innings of the game, which is why the game was lost. The Twins bullpen uncharacteristically imploded, specifically Jay Jackson and Jorge Alcala, while Martin got chewed up after taking leftfield and added to the meltdown.
That big inning for Seattle and the general lack of anything good for the Twins took away from the injury, but Kepler's reaction after is a reminder that these guys are human beings and things that happen have an impact beyond nine innings.
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