Francona goes 1-for-2 on replay challenges
Indians get out call overturned, but second review confirms call
MINNEAPOLIS -- Indians manager Terry Francona did his part to help his offense on Wednesday night, challenging a pair of plays with different results.
With Cleveland piecing together a rally in the fourth inning against the Twins, Francona challenged an out call that was overturned, giving Mike Aviles a stolen base. In the sixth inning, the manager also tried to have an out erased by arguing that Zach Walters was hit by a pitch, but that challenge did not pay off.
Each review lasted an estimated one minute and 10 seconds, and gave Francona a 14-for-27 record on managerial challenges this season.
After Aviles was initially ruled out on a stolen base attempt of second in the fourth, Francona promptly emerged from the visitors' dugout at Target Field to challenge the play. A brief review at the Replay Operations Center in New York led to an overturned call, rewarding Aviles with his 12th steal of the season.
Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis opened the fourth inning with consecutive doubles off Twins right-hander Ricky Nolasco, scoring one run and giving Cleveland a 2-0 advantage. Two batters later, Aviles delivered an RBI single that upped the Tribe's lead to three runs.
After Aviles stole second base -- replays showed that he narrowly avoided a tag by shortstop Eduardo Escobar -- Nolasco escaped further damage by retiring the next two batters in order.
In the sixth inning, Nolasco fired a pitch in the dirt with Walters at the plate with one out. Twins catcher Eric Fryer quickly gathered the ball, but Santana wandered too far off first base anticipating a wild pitch. Santana was caught in a rundown and tagged out on the play.
Francona challenged that the pitch hit Walters after bouncing in the dirt, which would have meant the play was dead and Santana could return to first base. After a brief review, the call was confirmed.