The Minnesota Twins got a start from Taj Bradley worthy of a stopper on Thursday, but so did Cleveland from Gavin Williams and the series finale between the division rivals was decided in extra innings.<\/p>\n
Twins relievers Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gomez, Tommy Nance and Taylor Rogers each pitched a scoreless inning, and Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall both hit two-out, run-scoring singles in the 12th to send the Twins to a 3-1 victory at Progressive Field.<\/p>\n
Rogers (5-3) earned the win, and Jack Anderson pitched the 12th for his first save in Minnesota, becoming the 12th Twins pitcher to earn at least one save so far this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having a routine is really important; it\u2019s gotten me through a lot of uncomfortable situations,\u201d Anderson told Twins.TV after the game. \u201cAnd the guys have been really great. It\u2019s fun to try and win games for the team and build relationships with teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
With two out and Ryan Jeffers on second in the 12th, left-hander Erik Sabrowski (3-2) intentionally walked Royce Lewis to get to lefty Trevor Larnach, who poked an 0-1 single to right and scored Jeffers to make it 2-1.<\/p>\n
Keaschall followed with a single to left to score Lewis from second and make it 3-1, and Anderson \u2014 recalled from St. Paul on Tuesday after making one major league appearance in April \u2014 made it stick for his first career save.<\/p>\n
Afterward, Anderson said he had \u201ckind of lost track of how many innings there were\u201d by the time he entered the game. But he struck out Rhrys Hoskins to lead off the inning and got the next batter, Gabriel Arias, to ground out to second.<\/p>\n
That sent courtesy runner Travis Bazzana to third, but after Patrick Bailey \u2014 who had homered in the fifth \u2014 drew a walk, Daniel Schneemann flied out to left to end the game.<\/p>\n
Anderson, 26, was making his third major league appearance. He pitched in one game at Yankee Stadium in April before being recalled from St. Paul on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just looking back on past experiences in the minors,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve found that in games like this, it kind of goes back to muscle memory a little bit. You just have to take a breath. I try to keep everything slow and under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victory earned a big four-game split for the Twins, who started their post-break schedule by losing two to the Cubs in Chicago, then lost the first two games of this pivotal series against their division rival.<\/p>\n
Williams struck out 11 batters, the most by any starter against the Twins this season, and left after seven innings with a 1-0 lead. He allowed only two hits. Bradley was nearly as good, his lone mistake a solo home run by Bailey with one out in the fifth.<\/p>\n
But the Twins manufactured a run to tie the game 1-1 in the eighth inning.<\/p>\n
Lewis drew a leadoff walk off reliever Hunter Gaddis and stole second. After a walk to Keaschall, Gaddis was pulled for All-Star closer Cade Smith, and pinch-hitter Alan Roden tied the game with a first-pitch liner into center to score Lewis.<\/p>\n
Roden, acquired at the trade deadline last summer in the deal that sent Louis Varland to Toronto, is getting his real playing time after suffering a shoulder injury in St. Paul.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it shows you that he\u2019s ready to hit,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cWe like the fact that he\u2019s aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the All-Star Game break, the Twins were a game under .500, three out in the Central and held the second AL wild card playoff position.<\/p>\n
After going 3-4 on their seven-game trip, they 51-53 and 2\u00bd out of a wild card spot heading into a weekend series against the A\u2019s at Target Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was big to bounce back and split the series here in such a challenging game, especially after the way we played (against the Cubs) in Chicago,\u201d manager Derek Shelton told reporters in Cleveland. \u201cI think this is one time you can come home three-and-four and feel good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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