MINNEAPOLIS – As the fastball left Hayden Wesneski’s hand, he knew what would happen next. He had yanked the pitch down and over the plate, right into the zone where Joey Gallo has his highest wOBA, a red spot on his heat map.
“It’s one of those things where I’d rather have thrown it way above, where [catcher Tucker Barnahart] had to jump and catch it, rather than missing down there,” Wesneski said after the Cubs’ 11-1 loss to the Twins. “And that’s something that you need to keep in mind moving forward.”
Gallo’s three-run shot was one of four home runs Wesneski allowed Saturday, a first in the rookie’s MLB career. Even in the minors, Wesneski had only surrendered four home runs in a game once. All seven runs he gave up in five innings Saturday came on the long ball.
“He knows when you’re missing, the execution isn’t there,” manager David Ross said. “And he’s trying. He’s trying to make pitches, and sometimes, whether that’s mechanical or concentration – what are those factors, we’ll look at and try to get a plan these next four days and just go back to work.”
The Twins put out a lefty-heavy lineup against the rookie, and every player who homered was hitting from the left side. Alex Kirilloff hit two solo homers. The first gave the Twins the first-inning lead, and with the second, he went back-to-back with Gallo in the third inning.
Then, in the fifth inning, Wesneski battled Jorge Polanco for 10 pitches. The last pitch, a slider that stayed low but leaked over the middle of the plate, Polanco hit over the right-field wall to put the Twins up 7-0.
“He put together a good at-bat, and he won,” Wesneski said. “He wore me down and, again, another one pitch away from being five innings, five runs.”
Wesneski said he learned a lot about himself, including what it takes for him to get the most out of game-planning, and that he needs to know where he can miss against opposing hitters.
Saturday broke Wesneski’s streak of three straight starts of five innings or more with one run allowed in each.
“You have to adjust to what the league is showing you, and then the league adjusts to you,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “It’s that constant battle back and forth. And I’m not worried about it at all. He’s been so good of late for us, and just had a rough one today.”
Hosmer and Ross ejected
Cubs designated hitter Eric Hosmer took exception to a called third strike in the eighth inning.
He was up with the bases loaded and two outs. He worked a 2-2 count, fouling off a splitter at the top of the zone. Then, Twins reliever Cole Sands threw another splitter, slightly higher than the last. Hosmer watched it for strike three and the final out of the inning.
He turned to home plate umpire Emil Jimenez and voiced his frustrations. Jimenez ejected him. Manager David Ross jogged out from the dugout and got in between the two, picking up the heated conversation where Hosmer left off. Ross, too, was ejected.
It was the sixth ejection of Hosmer’s career and the 11th of Ross’ managerial career.