Recap: Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota
Sports Network | September 18, 2008
St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Alexi Casilla's two-run homer tied it in the ninth and the Twins tacked on three more runs as Minnesota came through with a gutty 11-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a four-game set among playoff contenders.
Tampa called on Dan Wheeler to hold an 8-6 lead in the ninth, but Casilla followed Denard Span's infield single with a homer to right to knot the score.
Fernando Perez then had a catchable ball bounce off his glove leading to a Joe Mauer double and Wheeler (5-6) was pulled after intentionally walking Justin Morneau. Trever Miller entered and allowed a pinch-hit RBI double to Adam Everett, and Chad Bradford surrendered a run-scoring hit to Delmon Young and a sac fly to Matt Tolbert before finally getting out of the frame.
Joe Nathan set down the Rays in order in the ninth for his 37th save, making a winner out of Eddie Guardado (4-4), who pitched a perfect eighth. Starter Glen Perkins recorded a mere two outs in his sub-par start, yielding five runs -- two earned -- on five hits and a walk.
Joe Mauer had three hits and three RBI, while Jason Kubel added a three-run homer for the Twins, who halted a four-game skid and moved within 1 1/2 games behind the White Sox for the AL Central lead.
Evan Longoria's three-homer, four-RBI effort went for naught for the Rays, who have lost four of six. Dioner Navarro and Carlos Pena each added homers in defeat.
James Shields was credited with a no decision, allowing six runs -- five earned -- on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings for Tampa, which had its lead in the AL East slimmed down to 1 1/2 games.
With two on and two outs in the first, Kubel smacked a homer into the right- field seats for a short-lived 3-0 Minnesota lead.
The Rays answered with five runs -- all with two outs -- in the bottom half. Longoria popped a two-run shot, and, following a throwing error by Tolbert, Navarro went deep to left to put Tampa ahead, 4-3.
Ben Zobrist then roped a double, and the eighth batter of the inning, Gabe Gross, lined a run-scoring double to left, as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire saw enough of the left-handed Perkins.
Mauer singled in a Twins run in the third, but back-to-back homers by Pena and Longoria off Philip Humber in the fourth kept the Rays in the driver's seat.
Trailing 7-4 in the seventh, Minnesota clawed back with a two-run single by Mauer off Rays reliever David Price.
Longoria capped his terrific effort with a lead-off golf shot off Bobby Korecky in the seventh, finding the seats for his first three-homer game of his young career.
Longoria has three multi-homer games this year...Pena recorded his 30th homer of the season...Kubel's blast, his 18th, was his first since August 15...In his previous outing, Perkins lasted a then season-low three innings against Baltimore...In the second game of the series on Friday, the Twins look to keep the momentum with Nick Blackburn (10-9) squaring off against Edwin Jackson (11-11).
