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Walk-off in the park: Mauer, Twins win in 12
- Updated: July 30, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS — Ricky Nolasco of the Twins and Jose Quintana of the White Sox started a pitcher’s duel that lasted deep into the Minnesota night that ended when pinch-hitter Joe Mauer drew a bases-loaded walk in the 12th inning to give the Twins a 2-1 walk-off victory over the White Sox on Friday night at Target Field.
Eddie Rosario came home on the third straight walk issued by the Chicago bullpen to score the first run on either side since the sixth inning, giving the Twins just their second win of the season against the White Sox.
For the second game in a row, the Twins allowed a home run to the first batter of the game, with Adam Eaton taking Nolasco deep on his second pitch. But from there, Nolasco switched on the cruise control. Chicago only added a single and a double in Nolasco’s season-high eight innings, in which he tied season-lows with one run and three hits allowed.
On the other side, Quintana was also mowing down Minnesota hitters, shutting out the Twins through five innings before the Twins broke through with four hits in the sixth, punctuated by a game-tying RBI single from Kennys Vargas. Quintana allowed one run and seven hits through 6 2/3 innings, and his nine strikeouts were his most since June 11.
Eaton didn’t just show off his bat; he also made a big impact on the game with his tremendous arm, recording two key outfield assists that helped preserve the tie and force extra innings. He threw out Miguel Sano at home in the sixth to limit Minnesota’s game-tying rally before gunning down Robbie Grossman at third in the eighth to negate his leadoff double.
Not to be outdone, his counterpart in right field, Twins rookie Max Kepler, also showed off his arm by gunning down Melky Cabrera at third base in the ninth inning as Cabrera attempted to go to third on Jose Abreu’s two-out single.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDSano goes rogue: The Twins managed to tie the game 1-1 in the sixth against Quintana with three singles and a double, but they might have had more if not for a baserunning blunder. Dozier singled to lead off the inning and moved to third on Sano’s one-out hit to center. Even though the Twins would have had the tying run on third with one out, Sano took a risk and went for second, sliding in safely despite the throw beating him. On …
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