The Twins grabbed the lead late, but found a way to blow it in a loss to the Phillies, 3-2 Thursday night at Target Field.
If not for a bad eighth inning by setup man Jared Burton, the Twins might have swept Philadelphia.
Burton, in his first game since suffering a groin injury last week in Washington, gave up three straight hits in the eighth inning, allowing the Phillies to reclaim the lead, 3-2.
The Twins were held to just one hit through the first six innings against left-hander Cliff Lee, but they got to him in the seventh.
After a Jamey Carroll groundout, Joe Mauer walked and Ryan Doumit reached on an infield single to put runners at first and second with one out. Josh Willingham flied out to left, and with two outs, Justin Morneau delivered a two-run double to put the Twins on top, 2-1.
But Burton gave up the lead with his rough eighth inning, and the Twins went 1-2-3 in the eighth and ninth innings to end the game.
Kevin Correia didn’t factor in the decision. He allowed just one run on eight hits, but he was pulled before the sixth after his pitch count reached 112.
The Phillies outhit the Twins, 16-3.
Minnesota now hosts the Detroit Tigers Friday through Sunday at Target Field. It’s the beginning of an important stretch for the Twins. 13 of their next 15 games are against AL Central division teams.
