The Minnesota Twins went into the all-star break as winners after a walk-off home run from Jorge Polanco completed a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
The game got off to a great start for José Berríos, who got some help with a leaping catch from Trevor Larnach in the second inning. With the assist from his defense, Berríos cruised through four no-hit innings before running into trouble in the top of the fifth.
TREV ON THE TRACK! 😱@trevorlarnach | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Ul8zNNTIOP
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 11, 2021
After getting in the hit column, Detroit took the lead with two-run singles from Akil Baddoo and Jonathan Schoop. Down 4-0, Max Kepler started a Twins rally with his 10th home run of the season that got Minnesota on the board.
Polanco chipped into the lead with an RBI single in the sixth before the Twins rebounded to put up four runs in the seventh inning.
The Twins’ rally began with a wild pitch from Gregory Soto that allowed a run to score before Alex Kirilloff tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single. With the game tied, Kepler and Polanco delivered back-to-back RBI singles to give Minnesota a 6-4 lead.
7th-inning rallies are kinda our thing this series.
Thursday: 3 runs
Saturday: 3 runs
Sunday: 4 runs #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/n39qe4NnlQ— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 11, 2021
The Tigers staged a late rally of their own when Baddoo added a solo home run in the eighth inning to make it a one-run game. Although the Twins got the run back with a Josh Donaldson double in the bottom half of the inning, it was a rough afternoon from Taylor Rogers that kept Detroit in the game.
Rogers immediately loaded the bases in the top of the ninth before serving a grand slam to Jake Rogers that gave the Tigers a 9-8 lead. With the game in doubt, the Twins got an unlikely assist from Ben Rortvedt, who unleashed a 410-foot laser to right field that tied the game at 9-9.
Bottom 9️⃣. Tied at 9️⃣! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/YF4XzBrPEK
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 11, 2021
Rortvedt’s blast was just his second career home run and his second hit off a left-hander this season but sent the game into extra innings. Once there, Tyler Duffey got into a jam with two men on in the top of the 10th but another stellar defensive play by Kirilloff kept the Tigers off the board.
ALEX KIRILLOFF SAVES THE DAY! 😱@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/xFD9xhFVuA
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 11, 2021
That set the stage for the bottom of the 10th, where Polanco delivered his first career walk-off home run to give the Twins a 12-9 victory.
JORGE POLANCO.
THAT'S GAME. pic.twitter.com/T3uD5GRQWE
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 11, 2021
The three-run blast sent the Twins into the All-Star break with a record of 39-50. After four days off, the Twins will open a four-game series with the Tigers on Friday night.
