The Twins scored early, and then tacked on two runs late, to top the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-3 in 12 innings on Saturday. The Twins have won seven of their last eight games and will now shoot for 8-of-9 Sunday and the series win over the Halos.
Frankly, the Twins were lucky to win Saturday’s game. That’s because starter Kyle Gibson and five relievers issued 12 base on balls, which is not your typical path to success. And yet the Angels struggled to do anything with those base runners. As a team, they were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 16 men on base.
Meanwhile, the Twins kept the pressure on with 10 hits, including doubles from Byron Buxton, Eduardo Escobar and Mitch Garver, whose late-in-the-game double sealed the win for the Twins.
Gibson pitched well, striking out six over six innings, but once again got stuck with no decision. Ryan Pressly blew the save, but Addison Reed, Zach Duke, Trevor Hildenberger and Fernando Rodney did just enough to preserve the win. How about this pitching line? Rodney walked two in one inning and picked up his seventh save of the season.
Rookie sensation Fernando Romero gets the ball Sunday.
Extra innings…
-Sunday’s game could be a low-scoring affair because it’s hard-throwing Romero vs. hard-throwing Shohei Ohtani. Romero is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00 and 14 strikeouts in 11-plus innings. Ohtani is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 26-plus innings.
-Buxton made another great catch in center field on Saturday.