Umpires miss call, Minnesota cashes in on mistakes.
Some nice defense by Brian Buscher and timely hitting by Brendan Harris set the Twins up with what looked to be a nice comeback win, before Russell Branyan took Joe Nathan deep in the bottom of ninth inning. It was only Nathan's second blown save of the season, but for a team that's been struggling to put together a complete game on all sides of the ball it was still frustrating.
As the game moved into extra innings, with the game still tied at 4-4, Prince Fielder launched a ball to the deepest part of center field. With Gomez tracking at full speed, he lept at the fence...and wasn't able to come up with the catch. Fielder was calling for a review of where the ball impacted the wall as he was racing (a relative term) around the bases, before sliding in safely at third base. Replays showed that Fielder's ball bounced off the top of the outfield wall, which by rule means it should have been a home run. Even though the umpiring crew converged to discuss what happened, they got the call wrong, and failed to award Fielder the game-winning homer. Fielder was stranded at third, and the miscall by the officiating crew and the ensuing lack of execution by Milwaukee's offense gave the Twins a second chance at life.
Minnesota's offense capitalized, in a big way, with the help of some miscue's on the part of the Brewer defense. Brian Buscher, who got the start at third base, was able to give the Twins the lead with a two-run single. With two on, Michael Cuddyer came on to pinch hit for Brian Bass. He rewarded the switch with an explosion, just to the right of center field. Both runners scored, and with a misplay by Mike Cameron in center and a fumble on the relay, Cuddyer was waved in from third base. He scored on what was rightly ruled a triple, and it capped a big five-run inning by the Minnesota offense.
Justin Morneau reached base four times, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and two walks. Delmon Young continues to hit well, notching a trio of hits, including a double. Finally, Brian Buscher delivered big time in Saturday night's game, managing three hits and a pair of runs in addition to his three RBI.
Glen Perkins' performance registers as a quality start, although he seemed a bit hit-and-miss. He went six innings, striking out six and walking one while allowing eight hits. Ryan Braun's 18th homer of the season was only a solo shot, which helped limit the damage.
Game three of the series in Milwaukee wraps up this afternoon, before the Twins fly back to Minneapolis with an off-day tomorrow. I'm off to a BBQ this afternoon so I may not be around for the game thread, but enjoy!