The Metrodome was quiet Monday. Handed a 3-0 lead in the second inning, Johan Santana had allowed the White Sox to go ahead 4-3 in the sixth.

All of a sudden, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire came storming out of the dugout, screaming at the umpires. His venom seemed to be directed at first-base ump Greg Gibson. Then the replays started flashing on TV – shots of A.J. Pierzynski apparently stepping on Justin Morneau’s foot as ran to first base to end the sixth inning.

Gardenhire was livid. The hat was off. It was hard to make sense of it all at first, and we’ll be spending the postgame getting to the bottom of it. The word in the press box is that A.J. spiked Morneau twice today. Looking at my score sheet, sure enough, it’s possible. Pierzynski’s three at-bats went 5-3, 4-3 and GDP 6-4-3. When Morneau came up the next inning, Pierzynski got right in his ear, but Morneau seemed to blow him off completely. Home plate ump Larry Vanover got between them, ending the one-sided conversation.

For now, if you didn’t watch, just know that the Twins put together a five-run rally the very next half-inning. Torii Hunter put the Twins ahead 5-4 with a run-scoring infield chopper, and Mike Redmond hit a three-run double into the left-center field gap. We sat here wondering if Pierzynski would get drilled with a pitch his next time to the plate. Alas, Ozzie Guillen used Toby Hall to pinch hit for Pierzynski in the ninth inning.

UPDATE: A.J. met with Gardy after the game. Everything sounds cool.

“It was just a misunderstanding,” Gardenhire said. “I’ve already talked to A.J. It’s done with. After the game, I met with A.J. back there, and he explained it to me. That’s good enough for me. That’s over with. I was just reacting to an umpire pointing to our dugout and telling us to be quiet. That really irritated me.”

Sounds like Pierzynski “brushed” Morneau’s foot in the sixth inning and came close, stepping on the inside of the bag in the second.

“I didn’t feel anything,” Pierzynski said. “I guess [Morneau] thought there was [contact]. If there was, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do anything. … I’m sorry he thought that. I have nothing but respect for him and Gardy.”

Reusse was on the scene in the White Sox clubhouse. You’ll read more about this in our first editions. And, oh by the way, the Twins are back to .500, at 25-25.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.