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Freeman erupts as Braves hold off Twins
- Updated: July 28, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins wanted to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of their dramatic victory over Atlanta in the 1991 World Series, but Freddie Freeman and the Braves decided to crash the party with a 9-7 victory.
Freeman tied career highs with four hits and five RBIs as the Braves chased Twins starter Tyler Duffey in the second inning. Atlanta took an early 7-0 lead before holding off a furious Minnesota comeback for a 9-7 victory at Target Field on Wednesday night, winning both games in a short Interleague series.
“That’s why I like scoring all of those runs later in the game, because it doesn’t give them as much time to catch up,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s great to jump out, and [Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz] did a great job early of having the shutdown innings and then was getting two strikes and was having a hard time putting guys away. But we got the win.”
Duffey (5-8) allowed seven of the first eight Braves hitters to reach base in a four-run first inning, punctuated by a two-run homer from Jeff Francoeur, and was pulled after yielding another run in 1 1/3 innings. Freeman added a two-run homer in the fourth, and the Braves tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and the eighth.
“We put up enough runs to win the game, which is really frustrating for me because my job is just to try to get to the fifth, at worst,” Duffey said. “I didn’t do it. We put up plenty of runs, and I ended up hurting us a lot more than me just pitching bad.”
The nine runs were the most scored by Atlanta since an 11-8 victory over the White Sox on July 8.
As it turned out, the Braves needed the offense’s outburst after a forgettable outing for Foltynewicz, who allowed a season-high seven runs (six earned) in 5 1/3 innings. A two-run homer by Kurt Suzuki capped a three-run fourth, and the Twins added a two-run single by Miguel Sano in the fifth and two more in the sixth to keep the game close.
“We pecked away at them and got back into the game,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor. “They added on a couple, which proved to be a difference at the end of the game. We had chances right down to the end, but there’s no question coming back from seven down is a tough task.”
The Twins threatened to tie the game in the eighth, but reliever Chris Withrow struck out Sano with the tying run on second to preserve …
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