If Sunday’s game stands the test of time as the longest game in Target Field history — which at six hours and 26 minutes, it could for a while — it may be remembered as the day that Joe Mauer reached base seven times. People may recall that Miguel Sano singled in the 14th inning to avoid 10 consecutive strikeouts — a major league record for a position player. They may just remember it as a game where someone flipped off the Kiss Cam with both middle fingers.
Regardless of how it is remembered, entering ninth inning the Minnesota Twins were ahead 5-3, and when all 15 innings were completed the score stood at 8-6 Tampa Bay Rays.
“It was a tough day. Even recall of early things in the game are a little challenging,” admitted manager Paul Molitor. “A lot of close plays didn’t go our way.”
Jorge Polanco made great contact during most of his at-bats, but fell victim to a speedy Rays outfield. Brian Dozier was thrown out at the plate in the eighth inning on a play that merited a review, although was not overturned. Tampa centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier committed an error in the 14th inning that allowed the Twins to tie the game, but they were unable to end it there.
In the end, Brandon Kintzler blew a save, and Hector Santiago — pitching 48 hours after a start — gave up back-to-back home runs to Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison in the 16th inning and the Twins now enter a three-game series with 35-16 Houston Astros.
“A lot of guys stepped up and did a little bit more than you would expect in a normal situation,” said Molitor. “Hector said he was good to go for an inning, we brought him in. We just couldn’t contain at the end, they hit a couple balls over the fence, so it’s a tough loss, there’s no question about that.”
The Twins emptied their bullpen, obviously, in this marathon game and will make moves tomorrow in order to do what they can to ensure they have enough relief for the upcoming series. Kennys Vargas, who was was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts, was sent down to Triple-A. Justin Haley, who pitched the 15th, was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder soreness.
Even though he didn’t start for the second consecutive day, Sano didn’t appear in jeopardy of being sent down. However, he tied Mark Reynolds’ record for consecutive place appearances with a strikeout by a position player with his ninth straight on Sunday. Sandy Koufax holds the record among all players with 12 straight in 1955.
“He bounced back and he stayed on a slider with two strikes and was able to get it through the infield,” said Molitor. “A good chance he’ll be one of our fresher guys tomorrow.”
On a positive note, Mauer was 4-for-5 with two RBI, three walks, one strikeout and a homer. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.
“Impressive. I don’t know, how many at-bats did he have?” Molitor asked after the game. “He wasn’t retired until the last one, so that says a lot about his day.”
The question now is how much this game sticks with the Twins. At 26-20 they are holding onto a tenuous lead in the AL Central, and the Astros have the best record in baseball. Entering that series shorthanded due to player fatigue and lack of available arms in the bullpen is less than ideal.
“The guys are probably thinking about some of the things that happened, and opportunities that we had. But it won’t linger. This game doesn’t allow you to do that, unless you want to backslide quickly. You gotta find a way to man up when you have to endure a game like that,” said Molitor.
“I’m proud of the way that we competed for six hours. It was a good battle.”
