Game 21: Morneau lifts Twins over Rays
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota (Game 2 of 3)
Justin Morneau put the Twins on the board with a two-run home run in the first and knocked in the go ahead run in the ninth to lead the Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Rays. Morneau, in the DH spot, hit his two-run shot into left field off of James Shields to jumpstart an offense that only scored one run in their previous game. The Rays came back and plated two runs of their own in the sixth but Alexi Casilla would score in the bottom half after Brian Buscher was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Going into the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead, the Twins sent closer Joe Nathan to the mound to seal the victory, however, a pinch-hitting Ben Zobrist would take the first pitch fastball over the wall for a home run to tie the game. Nathan would pitch out of the predicament without giving up any more runs but would earn his first blown save of the season.
With the score knotted at 3, the Twins loaded the bases on a single by Jose Morales, a single from Denard Span and a walk from pinch-hitting Brendan Harris. With three on and only one out, the Rays moved Zobrist from right field to make a five-man infield as Morneau came to the plate. Morneau hit a grounder to Akinori Iwamura, who wasn’t able to field it cleanly, and Morneau legged out a potential double play as Morales scored the winning run from third base.
Attendance: 18,974
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
