Mike Trout came through in the 10th, Wade Meckler finished it off, and the Los Angeles Angels edged the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Thursday night after Minnesota had clawed all the way back.
The Twins looked finished, then Walker Jenkins gave them life. The rookie, who entered the night with an .089 average and one homer in 16 big-league games, launched a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 3-3. Minnesota then grabbed a 4-3 lead in the 10th on Brooks Lee’s RBI single.
But the Angels answered in the bottom half. Automatic runner Jose Siri moved to third on Vaughn Grissom’s pinch-hit fly to left, Zach Neto drew a walk, and Trout lined a single off Yoendrys Gomez to bring in the tying run. Meckler followed with the winning RBI single off left-hander Kody Funderburk.
Minnesota had a chance to slam the door in the 10th after Kody Clemens laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Angels left-hander Blake Weiman, though, got Josh Bell to pop to second, intentionally walked pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers, and then struck out Royce Lewis to escape the jam.
The ninth inning had already swung wildly. The Angels were one out from a 3-1 win after closer Ben Joyce struck out Emmanuel Rodriguez and Lewis to start the frame, but Victor Caratini kept Minnesota alive with a single to center. Jenkins then turned on a 101-mph fastball and sent it just beyond the glove of a leaping Siri in center for the game-tying homer.
Los Angeles got a strong outing from Walbert Ureña, who gave up four hits, struck out a career-high nine and walked none over seven scoreless innings. His ERA dropped to 2.74.
Twins starter Taj Bradley was sharp after a rough opening, finishing with three runs and five hits allowed in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked one, but four of those hits came in a three-run first for the Angels.
Minnesota LHP Connor Prielipp (5-7, 5.24 ERA) was set to face Angels RHP Grayson Rodriguez (4-7, 6.10) on Friday night.
In Other News...
Walker Jenkins Just Showed Why Twins Fans Should Still Believe
Walker Jenkins keeps giving Twins fans reasons to look past the standings and focus on what might be coming next. The clubs top prospect, called up Aug. 28 and ranked No. 14 overall in baseball, delivered one of the biggest swings of the night at Angel Stadium when he turned on a 100.9 mph fastball from Angels reliever Ben Joyce and drove a two-run, game-tying homer in the ninth inning. He added three hits on the night, a strong showing for a player still finding his footing in the majors.
The Twins still came up short in a 5-4 extra-inning loss, but Jenkins response mattered more than the final score in the long view. After a difficult start to his Major League career, he showed the kind of calm and competitiveness that teams want to see from a young hitter under pressure, and the performance only added to the sense that Minnesota may already have a cornerstone in the making. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Turn Wild Comeback Night Into Another Brutal Late Collapse
The Twins spent most of the night chasing the Angels after an early 3-0 hole in Anaheim, and for a while it looked like the kind of game that can get away from a team in a hurry. Instead, Minnesota clawed back, worked its way into a 4-4 tie in extra innings and got enough from a pair of starters who were both sharp deep into the game, with Taj Bradley and Walbert Urea each lasting seven innings and piling up strikeouts.
Minnesota still walked away with the wrong kind of familiar ending, though, as the Angels finished it with a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth. For a Twins club trying to turn a difficult night into something salvageable, the frustration is in how close it came to being a statement comeback, only to become another late collapse with another game still to come in the same series the next day. [Read more 🡒]
Rod Carew Just Gave These Twins Players Something Few Ever Get
Rod Carew made a familiar sight feel special again before the Twins opened their series against the Angels, showing up in uniform and spending time around batting practice and pregame meetings. For a clubhouse that has leaned on veteran voices all season, having a Hall of Famer like Carew in the room carried a different kind of weight, one rooted in the standards and history that still hang around the franchise.
Manager Derek Shelton and players such as Taylor Rogers and Ryan Jeffers welcomed the chance to be around him and pick up whatever they could from his experience. Carew means something on both sides of this matchup, with his number retired by the Twins and the Angels, and his presence offered a reminder that some baseball lessons go beyond the box score, even if the full impact of the visit is still more felt than measured. [Read more 🡒]