After the Twins’ Joey Gallo struck out looking with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, it appeared the Brewers were well on their way to a 5-3 win in Game 1 of the short two-game series between the two teams.
But in the bottom of the ninth, Michael A. Taylor hit a solo home run, Donovan Solano cracked an RBI single and then Carlos Correa, the Big Man on Campus for the Twins, stepped up with a man on and absolutely crushed the ball off an upper deck at Target Field for a 7-5 walk-off win on Tuesday.
Bailey Ober gets the ball Wednesday.
-Extra innings …
-Starter Pablo Lopez made another quality start but again didn’t figure in the decision, despite striking out nine over six innings with three runs allowed. The win went to pitcher Josh Winder, who looked good in relief. He pitched two scoreless innings with four whiffs.
-The Twins radio play-by-play team of Cory Provus and Dan Gladden were reunited Tuesday after Provus had worked with Paul Molitor on the Twins’ recent road trip to Tampa and Toronto.
Gladden shared a funny story about how former player and later minor league manager Rocky Bridges, upset with an umpire’s strike zone, approached him with a hammer and nail and asked him to “nail it down.”
Provus asked if he was immediately thrown out, but Gladden said Bridges was shown a lot of leeway, adding that he once coached from third base in a lounge chair during a stop in Portland, Oregon.
My ears perked up at the mention of my hometown, which for years was home to a Pacific Coast League team called the Portland Beavers. Sadly, minor league baseball hasn’t been played in the former Civic Stadium near downtown in a long time. During my years in Portland, the Beavers were affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies — Juan Samuel was a fixture on those Beaver teams — and the Minnesota Twins, who called Portland home for their Triple-A affiliate from 1987 until 1993.
Provus and Gladden also have a regular bit whenever Gladden mentions his playing days in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Provus: What kind of car did you drive?
Gladden: A snot-green El Camino.