There were plenty of tense moments and times when the Twins could have put the game away, but they still managed to pull out the 7-6 win over the Rangers in 12 innings. They blew an early lead and it looked dire, but they tied it all up in the bottom of the 9th, before winnings 3 innings later.
The Twins fell behind 2-0 early on, but charged right back. Joe Mauer hit an RBI single in the 3rd and Alexi Casilla hit a 3 run homer in the 4th to put the Twins ahead 4-2. A Mike Lamb sac fly in the 6th made it 5-2. Then after falling behind 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th, Joe Mauer hit an RBI single to score Craig Monroe and tie it up. They then had runners at the corners with only one out, but couldn’t capitalize. They had the bases loaded in the 11th with one out, but couldn’t cash in that time either. But they finally broke through in the 12th, when Howie Clark doubled home Carlos Gomez for the winning run.
Boof Bonser certainly didn’t start well as he surrendered a 1st inning solo homer to Josh Hamilton. He settled down allowing only one more run through 6, but as has been the usual, he faltered late, allowing a 2 RBI single to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the 7th. Dennys Reyes gave up back-to-back RBI hits in the 8th before the bullpen shut the Rangers down the rest of the way, though not without a scare in the 11th. Bobby Korecky got the win pitching 1 2/3 perfect innings and even chipping in a hit.
Obviously the Twins are excited that they were able to pull off such a dramatic victory. They had their chances to end it, but couldn’t execute and can only get so many of those before luck runs out. Bonser continues to struggle as this is his 4th straight start of giving up 4 or more runs. Nevertheless, this is the kind of victory that can energize a team and this is what the Twins need after their recent struggles.
