Brian Dozier wrapped up a wild back-and-forth finish with the game-winning grand slam for Minnesota.
After 3 1/2 months of setbacks and slumps Ryan O'Reilly Jersey , the Twins finally have some momentum heading into the All-Star break.
Dozier drove in five runs for the Twins, including the slam in the 10th inning on Sunday that delivered an 11-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
”We’re playing good baseball. We all need a break,” Dozier said. ”But I think hopefully we can pick up where we left off.”
Jake Cave doubled to start the 10th against Matt Andriese (2-4), the ninth pitcher for the Rays, and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Manager Kevin Cash ordered intentional walks on Joe Mauer and Eddie Rosario to load the bases and brought left fielder Joey Wendle in for a five-man infield. Dozier squashed the strategy with his 16th home run of the season and the fourth walk-off win for the Twins.
”Pick your poison,” Cash said. ”It didn’t work, obviously.”
Alan Busenitz (3-0) got the last four outs for the Twins, who finished 9-2 on their season-long homestand to follow a 1-8 road trip. The Rays totaled 54 hits over the four-game series but won only once.
Wendle’s two-out single in the ninth off Trevor Hildenberger tied the game. Jesus Sucre, who went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, hit a two-run double off Hildenberger in the eighth for a 6-5 lead.
Rosario, who was 3 for 5, had an RBI single after Mauer’s bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth. Cave was thrown out at the plate on that play, a close call reviewed and upheld that the Twins believed was wrong.
STEAMY SEVENTH
The Rays led 4-1 until the seventh. With two outs and two on, Rosario sneaked a single into left field through the shift-vacated hole to cut the deficit to 4-2. Dozier greeted Diego Castillo with an RBI single by beating out a deep ground ball to third, and first baseman C.J. Cron’s relay throw back to third skipped past Daniel Robertson for an error that let the Twins tie the game.
Then Dozier made Castillo flinch for a balk call, taking an animated jog down the line to the plate in hand-clapping celebration of the go-ahead run.
TEMPERS, TEMPERS
Eduardo Escobar was batting during the balk. Two bench-and-bullpen-emptying arguments later Juuse Saros Jersey , Escobar was ejected. Plenty of profanity was exchanged before and during the shouting matches, but they were free of shoves and punches. The whole thing, ultimately, was mostly one big misunderstanding.
”I’m very respectful with everybody around the league. I don’t fight with anybody,” Escobar said.
Sucre blamed Twins reliever Ryan Pressly for falsely accusing Castillo of throwing at Escobar, who said he had no problem with the 101 mph sinker that buzzed by his feet after Dozier scored. Escobar said his beef was with Robertson, who yelled at him to return to the box and stop staring at Castillo. Escobar started toward him with his own choice words and angry gestures, which brought everyone in uniform to the infield for the first not-so-cordial gathering.
”Escobar is a good dude, man. We talk all the time at third base. The guy likes Fogo de Chao. I like Fogo de Chao,” Robertson said, adding: ”If someone was yelling at me, I’d probably yell back.”
Escobar struck out, and as Robertson ran by him to the dugout he resumed airing his grievances. That triggered the second bench clearing. Rays pitcher Chris Archer, who was on the mound on Saturday when Rosario unsuccessfully tried to lure him into a balk with a shift-vacated third base, was among the most animated in the scrums. The Twins weren’t sure why there would’ve been an issue with such a strategy.
”That’s part of the risks you take,” manager Paul Molitor said.
RUSHED RODNEY
Molitor summoned closer Fernando Rodney to replace starter Fernando Romero for the last two outs of the fifth. New-age strategy? No, Rodney had a flight to catch so the Dominican Republic native could be in Miami on Monday for an immigration hearing.
FOR STARTERS
Ryne Stanek took his 12th turn as the opener Bo Horvat Jersey , the role the Rays have employed 19 times this season since creating it to maximize matchups for their relievers. He left with a 3-1 lead after two innings.
All eight Rays batters in the three-run second hit ground balls toward second base, first base or in between. Five in a row went for two-out singles off Romero.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: Cash said he’s bracing for a DL stint and extended absence for catcher Wilson Ramos, because of the pulled left hamstring that will cost him his first starting assignment at the All-Star Game.
Twins: RHP Ervin Santana pitched 5 2/3 innings for Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. Molitor said it is ”very possible” Santana will make another rehab start before joining the rotation, about 6 1/2 months after surgery on his middle finger.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Nathan Eovaldi pitches the series opener against Miami on Friday, and RHP Dan Straily takes the mound for the Marlins.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson takes the mound to start the series at Kansas City on Friday, opposite Royals LHP Danny Duffy.
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All that's left of the 2018 NFL scouting combine is for the deepest class of defensive backs ever to attend the annual assembly of college prospects to wrap up their testing and timing Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Then, they'll join the other hopefuls in returning home to prepare for their pro days, team visits and the NFL draft in Arlington, Texas, next month.
Here's a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of this year's combine:
BARKLEY BLOWS IT UP : Penn State running back Saquon Barkley exceeded lofty expectations in Indianapolis. His 29 reps on the bench press bested Luke Kuechly's 27. His 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash was better than Ezekiel Elliott's 4.47 and his 41-inch vertical jump was higher than Odell Beckham Jr.'s 38陆.
"Oh no, I'm not surprised," said Nittany Lions linebacker Jason Cabinda, saying he's seen that kind of dogged determination every day out of Barkley, who could go anywhere in the top five picks depending on the run on quarterbacks.
"I'm competitive," Barkley said, "but I don't care if I'm drafted 1, 5 or 72 or the last pick Anthony Barr Jersey Big , I'm going to come in with my head low ready to work."
GREAT GRIFFIN : Shaquem Griffin did 20 reps on the bench press with a prosthetic left hand in what was by far the best feel-good story of the combine.
"My goal was six," acknowledged Griffin, who almost doubled his previous high of 11 reps and surpassed the 17 his twin brother, Shaquille, managed at last year's combine before the Seattle Seahawks selected the speedy cornerback in the third round.
Griffin is expected to be a mid-rounder like his brother.
"This is a legitimate football player," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "He's an energy giver."
One who, conversely, fed off the hoots and hollers during his bench press.
"Everybody in the stands was hyping me up. I got the guys I'm here with hyping me up. It felt amazing," Griffin said.
JACK OF ONE TRADE : Louisville QB Lamar Jackson showed off a strong arm and excellent footwork but also some inconsistency while throwing to receivers Saturday. What he didn't do was run routes.
Many wonder if the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner might be best suited as an NFL receiver, but he insists he's "strictly a quarterback."
Mayock called Jackson the best and most fascinating athlete in this year's draft, noting that while his passing game needs plenty of polish, he's going to have an immediate impact running the football.
"He's Michael Vick," Mayock said. "He has as good a pair of legs as anybody in the history of the game. And he's going to win games with his legs."
DARNOLD'S DODGE : USC quarterback Sam Darnold refused to throw at the combine, preferring to show off his arm at his upcoming pro day with receivers he's used to playing with.
"I was a little disappointed Darnold didn't throw," Mayock said. "You get a chance to show off a little bit here. This is all about competition. I wonder in his heart of hearts if he missed competing (Saturday). Because the other guys went out and ripped it pretty good.
"I thought Josh Allen put on a show."
HURST GOES HOME : Michigan defensive lineman Maurice Hurst Jr., a possible first-rounder, was kept out of drills at the combine after doctors reportedly red-flagged a heart condition. Hurst told Utah defensive lineman Lowell Lotulelei that he had been diagnosed with the same heart condition as Lotulelei's older brother Andrew Ladd Jersey , Star.
Hurst, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle, had 59 tackles and 5陆 sacks last season. He also had 13 tackles for loss and has been considered one component of a deep class of defensive tackles in this year's draft.
BAD, BAD ORLANDO BROWN JR. : The only thing that went well for Oklahoma's massive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was the vote of confidence from his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate.
"When are you ever going to watch Orlando Brown run 40 yards down the field?" quarterback Baker Mayfield asked. "You can watch last year's tape and see he allowed zero sacks. I'd say that's pretty important for a left tackle."
It sure is.
But measures matter, too, and Brown's wretched week will surely cause him to slide down draft boards: He managed just 14 reps on the bench press, lumbered though the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds and put up historically poor numbers in the broad and vertical jumps.
THIN AT TACKLE : Notre Dame's Mike McGlinchey is projected as a late first-rounder, but if he falls to the second round, this year's NFL draft would be the first one in more than a half century without an offensive tackle taken in the first round.
The last time that happened was in 1965, and there were only 11 first-round picks that year. The last time a tackle wasn't selected in the top 32 picks was in 1960, when Len Rohde of Utah State went to the San Francisco 49ers with the 38th overall selection in the fifth round.