By the ninth inning on Monday, the Chicago White Sox had shoveled another embarrassing heap of runs on top of the Minnesota Twins’ withering playoff hopes, and Minnesota had called in Willians Astudillo — extraordinary avatar of the everyman — to pitch in the blowout.
The entrance of Astudillo, a player of virtually any other position by trade, signaled that the Twins had given up and decided to cut their losses. To everyone’s delight — it seemed at the time — fellow rotund revelation Yermin Mercedes bludgeoned a 3-0 eephus pitch into the next ZIP code.