From the Locker Room: Evan Marshall's escape act
As exciting as Adam Engel's bunt fake was on Monday, giving the White Sox the lead in the eighth, it was Evan Marshall who provided the most heart-stopping moment of the game.
Relieving Codi Heuer with the bases full and two outs in the sixth inning, Marshall stepped to the rubber to face ... Nelson Cruz, by far the most dangerous hitter in the heavy Minnesota lineup.
But Marshall attacked straight away, getting a called strike on a sinker inside, dumping a curve low and then getting back ahead by fooling Cruz with a curveball that cut the heart of the plate. Cruz fouled the next pitch off, a changeup — again, fooling Cruz, as presumably not many inside changes go unmolested by the slugger. Marshall came back with a change, and Cruz waved through it, right below the zone.
It was just one batter long, but a master class of pitching.
"He's one of the best hitters in baseball, so you try not to make a mistake, try not to walk him," Marshall said postgame. "I started the at bat on the corner, used three different pitches to get him out. With him, you can’t get in a pattern or be repeatable."
Marshall, who continued his brilliance with a perfect seventh (and one more K), was enamored with the postseason atmosphere in mid-September.
"Everybody knows this is [might as well be] playoff baseball, vs, the Twins, in September," Marshall said. "But tomorrow's another game; hold them off or beat them down, either way is fun."
There's a lot of great stuff in the interview above, enjoy it all.
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Evan Marshall video courtesy of the Chicago White Sox.