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Today’s lineups:
MIN: Luis Arraez 2B, Jorge Polanco SS, Josh Donaldson 3B, Miguel Sano 1B, Eddie Rosario LF, Jake Cave RF, Nelson Cruz DH, Alex Avila C, Byron Buxton CF, Randy Dobnak P
COL: Raimel Tapia LF, David Dahl RF, Nolan Arenado 3B, Trevor Story SS, Daniel Murphy 1B, Brendan Rodgers 2B, Tony Wolters C, Brian Dozier DH, Peter Bourjos CF, Mike Leake P
Taylor Rogers is actually 17/19 on save opportunities this season. I find that hard to believe considering how often it feels like he blows it, but the stats don’t lie. Tonight he was officially credited with a blown save, but Tyler Duffey and the Twins got the win. Ehire Adrianza, a ninth-inning defensive substitution at third base, was the hero that hit the walk-off to complete the sweep.
Randy Dobnak gave up a run in the first, third, and fifth innings tonight. In the first, it came via two doubles. The first was by David Dahl, and the latter by Trevor Story. In the third, it was by a guy I loved watching at Albuquerque, Raimel Tapia, hitting a gigantic home run 450 feet to right center which tied the game. Finally, an unearned run scored against Dobnak in the fifth. Nolan Arenado reached safely on an E3, as Polanco fielded a routine grounder cleanly, but Sano dropped the throw. Two batters later, he went first-to-home on a double hit by Daniel Murphy.
The Twins weren’t down very often in this game. After giving up the first-inning run, they scored two of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Luis Arraez opened the Twins half with a single. He’d eventually score on a double by Miguel Sano. Sano scored when Jake Cave singled, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead. The Rockies, as mentioned, tied the game in the third and took the lead in the fifth, but the Twins went back ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Singles by Sano and Cave and a walk drawn by Nelson Cruz loaded the bases. Alex Avila walked to push the first run home, and Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch for the second. That made the score 4-3, and in the sixth, the Twins extended their lead. Jorge Polanco started the inning, and ended Leake’s night, with a solo home run.
The score would stay at 5-3 until the ninth, when Taylor Rogers was in trouble from the start. He walked Brian Dozier and hit pinch-hitter Ian Desmond with a pitch, to put two on with no outs. Tapia and Dahl struck out—almost allowing Rogers to escape unscathed, but Nolan Arenado had another idea. After a called strike and a couple foul balls, Arenado found a pitch he liked, and doubled it into left-center. Dozier and Desmond both scored before Arenado was thrown out at third, tying the game.
The Twins hot-hitting infielders put together a game-winning two-out rally in the tenth inning though. Luis Arraez hit a single. Jorge Polanco hit a double that moved Arraez to third. Ehire Adrianza came up in place of Donaldson, and smoked a groundball past the shortstop (seriously, it had a 108 MPH EV) to bring home Arraez and complete the sweep.
Notes
- Mike Leake was released by the Diamondbacks on 6/17, and signed with the Rockies on 6/21. This was his first appearance for the Rox.
- Max Kepler pinch hit for Buxton in the tenth, but hit a harmless fly ball.
- Amazingly, no one got ejected today, as Leake and Dobnak each hit two batters, and Rogers also plunked a guy.
STUDS:
Ehire Adrianza: 1-1, walkoff RBI
Luis Arraez: 3-6, double
Jorge Polanco: 3-6, RBI, double, HR
DUDS:
No duds, Twins win!
Tomorrow: Off day. Tuesday at Detroit. 6:10 pm First pitch