The Angels found a way to steal one in Minneapolis, and it took 11 innings and a little bit of chaos to do it.
Los Angeles outlasted the Minnesota Twins 6-5 on the road, with Christian Moore’s infield single in the 11th bringing home the winning run and giving the Angels a 2-1 lead in the four-game series. It was the kind of finish that felt improbable once the Twins had built a 5-2 cushion, but the Angels kept chipping away until the game finally cracked open.
Minnesota got rolling early against Reid Detmers. Walker Jenkins singled in the second, Luke Keaschall followed with an RBI double, and Austin Martin added a groundout to make it 2-0. Victor Caratini extended the lead in the fourth with an RBI single, and by then the Angels were staring at a pretty familiar-looking hole.
They briefly answered in the fourth when Jose Siri launched a two-run homer off Joe Ryan to cut it to 3-2. But Detmers had more trouble in the fifth, giving up a solo shot to Ryan Kreidler, and Caratini struck again in the eighth with another RBI single to push the Twins ahead 5-2.
That’s when the Angels’ lineup finally woke up.
Adam Frazier delivered a double that drove in two in the eighth to trim the gap to one, and Vaughn Grissom brought the crowd and the dugout to life in the ninth with a solo homer off A.J. Minter that tied it 5-5 and forced extra innings.
Neither side scored in the 10th, but Tyler Saucedo kept Minnesota off the board in the 11th and gave the Angels another opening. The Twins chose to intentionally walk Mike Trout, and the move nearly worked when Wade Meckler flied out to right. Then Taylor Rogers hit Grissom with a pitch to load the bases with one out.
Moises Ballesteros struck out swinging, and on a night when he finished 0-for-6, it looked like the chance had slipped away. Instead, Moore chopped a ball over Rogers’ head, and the infield single let ghost runner Zach Neto race home with the winning run.
The Angels are now 5-5 over their last 10 games, and they also moved within a game of the Athletics in the AL West as they try to finish the season on a better note.
In Other News...
Angels' Wade Meckler Has A 2028 Story Fans Didn't See Coming
Wade Mecklers life with the Angels has taken on a rhythm that plenty of baseball families would recognize, only with an unusual twist. In the offseason, Meckler and his wife, Canadian Olympic hopeful runner Grace Fetherstonhaugh, can train together, but once spring training and altitude work arrive, their schedules split apart as each follows the demands of a very different sport.
Fetherstonhaughs recent World Championships qualification has only sharpened her focus on the 2028 Olympics, while Meckler is building on his strong play in MLB with his own long-term questions hanging in the background. It leaves the couple navigating a rare two-track path, with one eye on the next baseball season and the other on a Games that could eventually put both of their careers in the same global spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Reid Detmers Just Gave Angels Fans One Rare Reason For Hope
Reid Detmers gave the Angels something they have not had often enough this season, a late burst of pitching history worth noticing. Even in a start that was far from spotless, the left-hander worked five innings and reached the 200-strikeout mark, becoming just the 12th pitcher in franchise history to do it and the first Angels lefty since 1999.
The outing ended in a no-decision after he allowed four runs, but the Angels still found a way to edge the Twins 6-5 in 11 innings. Detmers has put together strong numbers across the season and is expected to take the mound one more time before the year is over, giving Angels fans at least one more chance to see whether this late stretch can turn into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A George Klassen Decision In Lost Final Weeks
The final stretch has already turned into a sorting exercise for the Angels, and George Klassen is now part of that conversation after landing on the 15-day injured list with left lower back inflammation. Manager Kurt Suzuki said Klassen is unlikely to be activated before the season ends, which closes the book on what had been a promising late push for the right-hander after he came back from injury and pitched well in August. For a club that is already looking at bigger-picture decisions, his health and where he fits next suddenly matter more than any short-term return.
Christian Moore is in a different spot, but the theme is similar. The infielder has struggled at the plate this season and is taking time away to work on his consistency and plate discipline, with a return expected soon. For the Angels, the remaining games are less about squeezing out one more result and more about figuring out which young pieces can still take something meaningful from a lost finish. [Read more 🡒]