It's ice cold in here

Twins 6, Giants 5 F/10

One of my favorite "strategies" in all of sports is completely silly. It's nothing more than a gut check. A test of nerves.

It's when a football kicker lines up and waits for the ball to snap, only for the other team to call timeout. They want to ice him. Make him think about his kick a little more. Research shows there's no difference in success rate, and yet the timeouts keep coming. The strategy is based on ... vibes?

You rarely see it in baseball, but we did in Sunday's biggest moment. With the winning run on second and two outs, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli jumped out of the dugout to confront the umpires.

Baldelli argued for a pitch clock violation. The umpire said he was late to get into position. No violation.

In the third inning, this discussion ends quickly. It's completely inarguable. But in the 10th inning? With the game on the line? Let's have a chat.

Let's stop the game for two minutes. Let's make Ryan Walker, the Giants’ struggling closer, sweat out another meltdown. Let's see if Walker mistakes DaShawn Keirsey Jr., with two hits all year, for Ken Griffey Jr.

You know how this movie ends.

It's a win for the gut checkers and vibe monitors of the world. It's not only another loss for Walker and the Giants—it's a sweep.

Up next: The Giants come back home to face the Diamondbacks, who are fresh off a tough series with the Dodgers. Who are the Dodgers? The Giants still won’t find out for almost another four weeks. In the meantime it’ll be Justin Verlander (0-2, 4.50 ERA) against Merril Kelly (3-2, 4.09 ERA). First pitch at 6:45 pm.