Walker Jenkins gave the Twins the jolt they needed, and Luke Keaschall supplied the rest.
Jenkins launched a home run, Keaschall delivered at the plate and flashed the leather in right field, and Minnesota held off the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Tuesday night to split the first two games of their road interleague series.
Taj Bradley was steady over six innings, and the Twins’ bullpen finished the job on a six-hitter. Minnesota improved to 74-84 after using a pair of late diving catches from Keaschall to keep San Francisco from building on its 5-2 win Monday.
The Giants scratched out their only run against Bradley in the second inning. Shay Whitcomb and Scott Bandura opened the frame with singles, and Drew Cavanaugh followed with a successful squeeze bunt to bring home the run.
After that, Bradley settled in. He allowed only one more hit, a fifth-inning single by Drew Gilbert, while walking three and striking out six.
The Twins were trailing when Anthony Molina took a one-hit shutout into the sixth, but Minnesota flipped the game in a hurry. Ryan Kreidler started the rally with a single, Keaschall followed with a one-out triple to score him, and Brooks Lee then pushed Minnesota in front for good with an RBI single.
Molina exited after six innings charged with two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six.
Jenkins added insurance in the seventh, leading off the inning with his fourth homer of the season to make it 3-1.
Keaschall then took over in the field.
His first diving grab came on a liner from Osleivis Basabe in the seventh, with the Giants threatening after putting runners on first and second with one out. Keaschall tried to turn it into a double play by firing to first, but Royce Lewis reacted quickly and threw to second to beat Andrew Knizner back to the bag and end the inning.
In the eighth, Keaschall made another near-identical forward dive to snag a liner by Turner Hill. Bo Davidson followed with a single, and pinch-runner Grant McCray stole second, but A.J. Minter got Whitcomb to strike out and preserve the two-run edge.
San Francisco made one last push in the ninth. Jeff Hoffman walked Brett Harris and hit Knizner to start the inning, then a sacrifice bunt by Koss moved the potential tying runs into scoring position.
Basabe drew a walk to load the bases, and Jonah Cox’s fielder’s choice brought in Harris. Hoffman then closed it out by striking out Victor Bericoto on a full count for his sixth save.
Lee finished with two singles and was the only player in the game with multiple hits.
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Cesar Perdomo is lined up to take upcoming starts as the Giants sort through the rotation, but Tidwells status could add another layer of uncertainty to the mix. If the tests reveal a more serious issue, he could become the latest starter to land on the injured list, leaving the Giants with even fewer stable answers on the mound. [Read more 🡒]