Twins Steal One From O's, 4-3

Friday's Twins-Orioles game started as a pitcher's duel, then became a tale of which team could make the most of their weird, outlier innings.  The team from the American League Central capitalized just a little bit more on their way to a 4-3 victory, clawing their way back to .500, and still, somehow, a wild card contender with 40 games to go.

Tommy Milone cruised after a first inning hit, setting down 13 in a row.  But the sixth inning was brutal, as his first three pitches resulted in a single, a single, and a home run from Gerardo Parra.  He only recorded one more out before eventual winning pitcher Casey Fien ended the inning with no further damage done.

The Twins squandered a couple opportunities in the early going to break the game open.  After scoring their first run on a bases loaded walk to Eduardo Nunez, Byron Buxton tapped out to third to snuff that rally.  A lead-off double from the slumping Torii Hunter in the sixth was also squandered, as Hunter never even reached third.

Then it got weird.

The Twins loaded the bases in the 8th with nobody out on a walk, a bloop, and a hit-by-pitch.  An Eddie Rosario sac fly made it 3-2.  Then a Kurt Suzuki jam shot landed just past second base, scoring two more runs and giving the Twins a 4-3 lead.  At no point were any of the at-bats impressive outside of the walk (Miguel Sano, of course).  And yet, the runs counted.

Trevor May pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, then Kevin Jepsen struck out the side in the ninth to notch the save in Glen Perkins' stead. How in the heck did they win this game.

After the game, the Twins announced they had acquired lefty reliever Neal Cotts from the Brewers for a PTBNL.  Remember when Ozzie Guillen pitched him in every fucking game one year?  Anyway, he's a Twin now.

ROBOT ROLL CALL

CHARTS & GRAPHS

Source: FanGraphs

Enjoy your weekend, everybody.