Minnesota Twins vs Tampa Bay Rays Match Player Stats On Sep 06, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 6, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ehire Adrianza hit a three-run homer and Eduardo Escobar was 3-for-5 with three RBIs to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 10-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in a Wednesday afternoon slugfest at Tropicana Field.

The Twins (72-67) avoided the three-game sweep by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to break a 6-6 tie.

Tampa Bay (70-71) received a home run from Evan Longoria, Lucas Duda and Kevin Kiermaier but lost a game in the race for the American League's second wild-card spot.

Minnesota took a 7-6 lead in the seventh off a throwing error by Rays reliver Steve Cishek that allowed Brian Dozier to score from first base. After Dozier walked, Jorge Polanco laid down a sacrifice bunt but Cishek fired the ball past Duda and into the right field bullpen. Polanco ended up on third with the two-base error.

Escobar made it 8-6 with a bloop single to right center that plated Polanco and would eventually score on a bases-loaded fielder's choice by pinch hitter Max Kepler.

The Twins added an insurance run in the ninth when Escobar had a one-out triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Robbie Grossman.

The Rays tied the game at 6 in the fifth on Kiermaier's 11th home run of the season, a two-run blast to right center.

Dozier led off the game with a home run to left field off Rays starter Blake Snell. Longoria tied it in the bottom of the first with a solo shot off Twins starter Aaron Slegers.

Adrianza gave the Twins a 4-1 lead in the second with his blast to left. Duda tied the game in the bottom of the third with a three-run homer to dead center.

Minnesota scratched across two runs in the top of the fifth on Escobar's two-run single.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Snell gave up six runs in four-plus innings while Slegers surrendered five runs in four-plus frames.

Taylor Rogers (6-3) struck out two in 1 1/3 innings to get the win. Cishek (3-2) took the loss.

NOTES: Rays RHP Chris Archer played catch again and could start Friday after that day's scheduled starter RHP Austin Pruitt pitched in relief Wednesday. ... Twins OF Miguel Sano did some light running Wednesday in Minnesota and is likely to take batting practice Thursday. ... Rays 1B Logan Morrison (stomach flu) was scratched from the lineup for a second consecutive day but performed pinch hit duties in the ninth. ... Twins 1B/C Joe Mauer entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 with a walk, snapping his 14-game hit streak.