Twins (finally) benefit from horrible missed call by umpires vs. Pirates

It's safe to say things have not been going the Minnesota Twins' way as of late. A series sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees was frustrating but understandable, but the a sweep by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates is something entirely different.

That's what was on the line Sunday afternoon, as the Twins were clawing as hard as they could to try and avoid getting swept by the Pirates. Everything in the universe seemed to be tipping in Minnesota's favor to help them out, from Pittsburgh walking in a run in the first inning to a bizarre missed call at home plate that benefited the Twins.

Home-plate umpire Ryan Wills missed what seemed to be an obvious foul tip by Byron Buxton, but it was ruled a passed ball instead. The botched call allowed Max Kepler to score and make it a 3-0 lead for the Twins.

Twins (finally) benefit from horrible missed call by umpires vs. Pirates

It's impossible to overstate how much this call embodies what it's like to watch the Twins right now. The call was so bad that everyone was in universal agreement that it was a completely botched call, even fans in Minnesota happy to have benefited.

The Twins have been subjected to some brutal umpiring this season, right through this series where some seriously questionable strike calls have stunted any chance for Minnesota to build momentum. For a call like this to actually go their way is almost unfathomable.

Nothing serves as a better metaphor for watching the Twins than a call that is helpful yet so infuriating at the same time.

All of this chaos ended up being rendered meaningless later in the game. Despite how big of a bone the baseball gods were throwing Minnesota, the Twins barfed up three runs in the fifth inning to hand Pittsburgh a lead.

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