Game 130: Twins take series with late rally
August 30, 2009
Texas @ Minnesota (Game 3 of 3)
The Twins erased a 3-2 deficit by scoring three runs in the eighth inning by pulling out some patented Twins small ball to manufacture runs to take the rubber game of the series.
Scott Baker was on the mound for the Twins and retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up a double to Ivan Rodriguez. Elvis Andrus would follow with a single to center to score Rodriguez and give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
The lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Jason Kubel would hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to put the Twins up 2-1. Mike Redmond would hit a two out triple but Nick Punto followed with a pop fly to center to end the inning.
Baker would retire another seven batters in a row before and pitch out of a jam before giving up a 2-run home run to Nelson Cruz to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
The Twins wouldn’t quit, though, and tied the game with a single to left from Brendan Harris that scored Justin Morneau. Mike Redmond would follow with a chopper to first but the throw to the plate was not in time as Carlos Gomez scored and the Twins took the lead.
The Twins weren’t done yet, however, as Nick Punto would follow with a perfect squeeze bunt to score Harris from third. The Rangers would get the next two batters to ground out to put an end to the scoring as the Twins were up 5-3.
Joe Nathan would come in to close out the game but ended up loading the bases with no outs. Nathan would then retire the following three batters to hold on the game and earn his 34th save.
Attendance: 29,282
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