Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison hit two home runs apiece as the Tampa Bay Rays topped the Minnesota Twins 7-5 to take the final three games in a four-game series.
The Rays hit 11 home runs during those four days, a franchise record. Longoria had a homer in each game; Morrison had one in the final three.
“Both those guys, gosh, they’re on fire,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Associated Press. “Just shows when you get two really good hitters on fire, they can carry a big load for you offensively and they’re doing that.”
The Twins hit three of their own on Sunday afternoon, with Byung Ho Park and Robbie Grossman hitting back-to-back homers in the third inning and Eduardo Nunez adding one in the eighth.
With all the home runs hit in the game, ironically it was a ball that stayed in the park that ultimately led to the Tampa Bay victory.
Steven Souza Jr. hit a leadoff ninth-inning double that fell 10 feet short of the fence in center field and rolled through Byron Buxton’s legs, allowing Souza to advance to third and start a rally.
“Everything I did was pretty good,” Buxton told the Pioneer Press. “I got to the wall. My head was down on the ball. I didn’t pop up. It just kind of hit off the concrete and bounced back up and hit the padding. When it came back down, it hit the edge of the padding and just shot back between my legs.”
Kevin Jepsen walked the next two batters, Brad Miller hit a sacrifice fly and Longoria an RBI single to secure the victory.
“They’ve got some hot hitters over there, no doubt about that,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune. “You make mistakes, you have to pay.”
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Associated Press]
