“I mean, as far as talking, explaining, rationalizing, all these things — we just have to perform,” manager Bob Melvin said before the game. “And right now, we’re in a situation where we have to. No ifs, ands or buts. It’s about actions.”
. The next day, Snell started in a blowout that snowballed into a five-game win streak and precipitated a run to the National League Championship Series.Some 11 months later, the potential for symmetry felt limited. There was no impassioned speech Thursday . Melvin had already played that card all the way back in May, after a lifeless series in Minnesota.
“It’s our identity. It’s who we are,” Melvin said after the four biggest names in the lineup — Soto, Machado, Bogaerts and— combined to go 10-for-19 with seven RBIs. “Those guys have to perform, and certainly tonight shows you what our expectations are for these guys.”