Twins pounce on Bucs’ Heller in extra frame
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The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH -- Manuel Margot hit an RBI triple to start a seven-run outburst in the 10th inning, and the Minnesota Twins ended a five-game losing streak with an 11-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Margot led off the 10th with a triple to center field off a cutter from Ben Heller (0-1), scoring automatic runner Kyle Farmer. Willi Castro was hit by a pitch for a second time in the game, bringing in another run with the bases loaded and no outs. Carlos Santana tacked on two more with a double to right ahead of a two-run single from Carlos Correa and another single from Max Kepler that made it 11-4.
"The game is nuts," Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. "You can play and things go a certain way for days and days and days at a time, and then you put it together and you put up, what did we put up, seven runs in one inning in extra innings? It's goofy. And when I say it's nuts, we're all kind of nuts. If you kind of like this, you like it for things like today."
Heller, who plunked three batters, has an ERA of 49.50. He allowed five runs in one inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, two days after being selected from Triple-A.
"You have to try to keep his head up," Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. "I mean, he's scuffled the two outings up here. We've got to continue to work with him."
Jhoan Durán (1-2) pitched a perfect ninth inning.
The Twins were shut out in the first two games of the three-game series after being swept in three games at Yankee Stadium. The Pirates finished a 4-2 homestand that included winning two of three against the Dodgers.
"It took a lot," Baldelli said. "Squeezing a lot of the juice out and trying to get every bit that you can. You just keep squeezing and hope that more comes out. I don't know what I'm really saying at the moment, but truth is, it took a lot of work."
Jared Jones went five innings and allowed three runs -- all in the first -- on six hits for Pittsburgh.
The rookie right-hander was tagged with back-to-back singles from Trevor Larnach and Correa in the first before walking Kepler to load the bases with one out. José Miranda walked to force in the first run, Correa scored on a fielder's choice and Kepler made it 3-0 on a passed ball.
Henry Davis and Andrew McCutchen walked with two outs in the Pirates fifth. Bryan Reynolds snuck an RBI double off Twins starter Bailey Ober just over a leaping Santana at first base and down the right-field line.
Connor Joe then sent a changeup to left-center for a two-run triple, putting Pittsburgh ahead 4-3 and ending Ober's outing after 4ª innings. He gave up four runs and seven hits.
"I felt great," Ober said. "Felt like I was under control the whole game until I was trying to get that last out when I was out there."
Kyle Nicolas hit Castro with a pitch and walked Santana to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Justin Bruihl allowed a sacrifice fly by Royce Lewis, tying it 4-all.
"Everything is positive," Santana said. "It's a long season, a long season. The season is up and down, but we have to keep our heads up, take it one day at a time and try to play hard every day for a win."
Saturday's game
Rowdy Tellez homered and drove in three runs and six Pittsburgh relievers kept the Twins in check as the Pirates beat Minnesota, 4-0, on Saturday.
Tellez, who has been frequently booed at home of late while in the throes of a season-long funk, turned on a changeup from Simeon Woods Richardson and dropped it just over the center-field wall with one out in the seventh for his first homer since March 31.
The crowd that jeered Tellez when he was introduced before the game-turning at bat then asked for a curtain call. Tellez, who signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in the offseason, obliged on a day his batting average rose to .208.
"Hasn't been a lot of ups so it's nice to go out there and hear my name," Tellez said. "I'm trying to do the best I can for everybody. Trying to be that leader, that player that needs to produce. That's what they brought me here to do and we're going to get that going and keep it going."
The first baseman added a two-run single in the eighth to provide some breathing room as the Pirates won for the fourth time in five games.
"To be able to (hit that homer) was really cool, and then to come up again and get the big hit to extend the lead in the eighth was huge for us to get insurance runs," Shelton said. "It was outstanding, and I give our fans a ton of credit because I know he was feeling it."
Hunter Stratton (2-1) picked up the win thanks to a spectacular catch by second baseman Nick Gonzales to end the seventh. Minnesota had two on with two out when pinch-hitter Margot hit a flare into shallow center field that Gonzales tracked down to make a sliding over-the-shoulder grab.
"It's kind of one of those in that situation if it drops it changes the ballgame, so I was just running at it," Gonzales said.
Michael A. Taylor, back from paternity leave following the birth of his son on June 2, delivered an RBI single in the eighth. McCutchen had three hits for the Pirates. Reynolds had two to extend his hitting streak to seven games.
The Twins have dropped five straight after being shutout for the second consecutive game. Minnesota will take a 22-inning scoreless streak into Sunday's series finale. The Twins had six hits -- all singles -- and only one player reached third base.
"Just have to go out there and hit some balls hard," Baldelli said. "That's the simplest way of saying it. Some of this is probably mental at this point and not the physical aspect of going out there trying to hit a line drive."
The lack of offense spoiled another solid start by Wood Richardson (2-1). The 23-year-old rookie struck out six against one walk and made just one real mistake that Tellez turned into a cathartic blast.
"Sim was phenomenal," Baldelli said. "I thought he was on top of his game."
The Pirates, who have three starting pitchers -- Martin Perez, Marco Gonzales and Quinn Priester -- on the injured list, were forced to rely exclusively on their bullpen.
Carmen Mlodzinski got the first five outs before giving way to Luis Ortiz, who was in the mix to earn the fifth spot in the starting rotation during spring training before being sent to the bullpen.
Ortiz, who has thrived in a relief role, entered and held Minnesota scoreless for 4• innings. Justin Bruihl, Stratton, Colin Holderman and David Bednard also put up zeros as the Pirates recorded their third shutout victory in five days.