Twins 12, Mariners 6 (10 Innings): Late-Inning Heroics Stun Mariners

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Box Score
Zebby Matthews: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (8), Willi Castro 2 (3, 4), Carlos Correa (5)
Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.404), Carlos Correa (.304), Willi Castro (.165)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

 

Ah, the infamous West Coast trip. The great equalizer. Tales of the Pacific are often apocryphal, but there is indeed a sense that it offers a litmus test for a team’s gumption: exit with a few wins under your belt, and you’re probably fine; lose too many times, and the squad’s acumen is in question. 

Early reports did not favor the Twins. Zebby Matthews surrendered a leadoff infield hit and a line drive single from old friend Jorge Polanco. By themselves, these two outcomes would be problematic; exacerbated in this instance was the existence of Cal Raleigh, mean and homer-hungry, ready to step into the batter’s box. He needed just one pitch. A cutter. A bad one. So bad that Matthews shunned the offering for two innings. The home run was Raleigh’s 20th of the season 3-0 Mariners. 

But it got worse before it got better - or even before the inning ended. It was 4-0 Mariners when Randy Arozarena deposited a Matthews' fastball just beyond the left field wall 

For three innings, it seemed like Minnesota was better off ceding the game. Bryan Woo diced through the lineup with little resistance, as a Trevor Larnach single in the first stood as the only baserunner the team could muster off the righty. The rhythm was contagious. The outs were too easy. Twins hitters must have felt they were gripping sand instead of a bat.

Yet, action arose immediately, summoned by Larnach, who evidently finds Woo’s famous fastball rather ordinary: he smacked it into the right field seats on the first pitch of the at-bat. 

 

 

Ryan Jeffers felt inspired. He took a Woo sinker and drilled a double into the left-field corner; Brooks Lee ushered him home two batters later with an RBI groundout. Suddenly, the lead didn’t appear so great.

And, suddenly, Matthews was dealing. That disastrous first gave way to a successful second, which begat a clean third. Before long, the middle innings arrived to uneventful fanfare—excellent news for a pitcher. In fact, Matthews dominated the sixth so well that Rocco Baldelli sent his youngster out for one more frame. It worked. Two groundouts and a strikeout constituted the finality of the longest start of his MLB career.

While still in line for the loss, Matthews’ deficit was just one as he left, as Willi Castro hit a solo shot about half a foot far enough to elude Leody Tavares’ glove in right field in the top of the seventh. 

 

 

That's when the game ceased to be anything ordinary or easy to digest. **** got crazy. Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer to give Seattle what must have felt like an indomitable lead: Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz had a 0.00 ERA, after all. Might as well turn the TV off. 

Well, the Twins were feeling spicy. Ty France singled, yet two strikeouts put Minnesota's WPA at 1.1%. Castro homered again.

 

 

That bumped odds to... 3.5%. Certainly possible; highly unlikely. Byron Buxton singled and stole second. That raised an eyebrow. And, somehow, Larnach scooped one of Muñoz's famous sliders, and drove the pitch into center, sending Buxton scampering home to tie the game.

 

 

Jhoan Duran worked a 1-2-3 ninth to send the game into extras. If the previous inning was wild ****, the 10th was the unhinged bananas that usually only exists on Comedy Central in the wee hours of the morning. It started when Carlos Correa stroked a two-run homer on the first pitch in extra innings. 

 

 

Then Brooks Lee singled. Then came two outs. Then. Then. Then. Four more runs. Varied in nature. Potent all the same. Buxton singled home two. Larnach—I mean, just build the statue already—brought in a pair as well. The lead swelled to six as Minnesota left the top of the 10th with an unthinkable 12-6 lead. At one point, they had two outs in the bottom of the ninth with just three runs. 

Brock Stewart closed out the Mariners in the 10th, not even allowing the ghost runner to score. Twins win. 

Notes:

Matthews' seven innings were an MLB career-high. His previous best was five.

The Twins are 20-7 when Jhoan Durán appears in a game in 2025. 

Willi Castro hit two homers in a game for the first time since May 27th, 2023.

Trevor Larnach accrued four hits in a game for the first time since August 21st, 2024.

Post-Game Interview:

Let's hear from Carlos:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Mariners match up for an evening Fox showcase, with first pitch set at a merciful 6:15 PM. Bailey Ober will start opposite Bryce Miller. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[1985Fan]

That was an impressive game by the Twins. I’ve been a Rocco critic, but I have to give him credit for leaving Matthews in to pitch through the 7th. Matthews had not recorded an out beyond the fifth inning in his short career, so kudos to Rocco for leaving him in. He may be learning that it’s better to let the starter go longer, especially when there are no off days coming. Rest the BP. Great game with multiple players contributing.

[Schmoeman5]

99.9% of viewers thought it was ball game after 1 inning. 99.9% of viewers knew it was over through the 8th. 9 runs later TWINS WIN! While most had long left. Shocker come Sat. morning.  

[UK Twin]

Just WOW. Munoz has been as dominant as you can be as a closer so one run looked beyond the Twins never mind three! Amazing comeback and the best win since the 2023 play offs. Credit to Matthews, who settled very nicely after a rough first inning.

Did a decent job coping without Buxton but in one game back he's shown why he's such a big player. We don't tie the game without his hit and SB. Glad we took our time with him - having had concussions in the past don't take any chances.

Correa is red hot as well - fitting way to close out a game with that great play as well. Huge games for Willi and Larnach. Huge team effort to come back like that.

[Mark G]

I keep waiting for the chariot to turn back into a pumpkin, all the while hoping the clock never strikes midnight.  How many times can minor miracles happen before our eyes?  Or are we really that team, not the one who found ways to lose our way to 13-20?  This has been a rush; can it last another 106 games? 🫣

[Peter]

WOW WOW WOW!!! Huge huge huge comeback!!! Biggest of of season so far!!!

[DJL44]

If only I could have stayed up past the 4th inning. A Radke-esque start for Matthews, Buxton and Correa performing like they can, and a huge night for Castro and Larnach.

[FlyingFinn]

The Kyle Farmer trade still paying dividends in a "3 degrees of Kevin Bacon" type of way. The Twins traded Casey Legumina to the Reds for Farmer. The Reds traded him to the Mariners and last night Legumina gave up the 6 runs in the 10th.

[Bodie]

6 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

The Kyle Farmer trade still paying dividends in a "3 degrees of Kevin Bacon" type of way. The Twins traded Casey Legumina to the Reds for Farmer. The Reds traded him to the Mariners and last night Legumina gave up the 6 runs in the 10th.

Methinks that FlyingFinn has far too much time on his hands... hope you used some of it to catch last night's game.  

I fell asleep at 4-1, with a fresh pot of coffees.  Woke up at 3am to good Twins news, but at 3am!

[Old Twins Cap]

Anyone who did not go to bed in the 8th inning last night needs to get a life.

For the rest of us, it's the highlight reel of baseball fantasies, which seemingly, never happens when we watch the actual game.

I'll take it for sure, but, I'd love to have it happen when I am watching.

 

[Melissa]

Thought I might be dreaming when I looked at my phone at 5:00 this morning Minnesota time and saw the score. The headline suggested to my sleepy eyes that somehow our guys had come back from a deficit, down to their last out in the ninth, to win, and win big!

Enjoyed watching the whole game through on my tablet. When Zebby gave up four in the first I would have thought it was over if I were watching live. But what a game nearly all round! Larnach, Castro, France, Correa, Jeffers, Buxton, Lee …

Matthews gets squeezed by umps all the time, but he persisted with a gritty performance through seven. Sands looking more and more shaky, but Jhoan and Brock locked it down.

Twins TV streaming with the ability to watch complete games live or later has been a real boon this year.

[arby58]

7 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

I’ve been a Rocco critic, but I have to give him credit for leaving Matthews in to pitch through the 7th. Matthews had not recorded an out beyond the fifth inning in his short career, so kudos to Rocco for leaving him in. He may be learning that it’s better to let the starter go longer, especially when there are no off days coming. 

This gets repeated so often it has almost become a Minnesota urban legend, but it is not factual. Last year, the Twins were above the league average in average innings pitched per start, ranking 12th of the 30 teams at 5.3. The year before that (2023), they were third best in baseball at 5.6 average innings pitched per start. This year, they are currently slightly below the league average (5.3) at 5.2. People should let this one go - Rocco doesn't have the 'quick hook' many believe he has.

[jmlease1]

It definitely did not look good when Zebby got homer-happy in the first. Raleigh crushing a dinger was extra frustration because it was a 3-run shot where neither hit was exactly a solid shot. A little dribbler in the hole with some weird spin from Crawford and a dink from Polanco that barely got over Brooks Lee and into the OF. But suddenly it's 3-0. Credit to Zebby for not getting rattled after a rotten 1st inning where he was unlucky and got punished severely for his mistakes.

But huzzah for the offense when came alive and put some crooked numbers up on the board! 14 hits and 4 walks is going to get you a lot of runs, and it's great to see Buxton look like there's no lingering effects from the concussion. Larnach was excellent, Castro was an igniter...great work to not quit on the game and get a nice win,

[arby58]

21 minutes ago, Melissa said:

Twins TV streaming with the ability to watch complete games live or later has been a real boon this year.

I like that feature as well - in fact, I plan to watch the game later today.

[Schmoeman5]

39 minutes ago, Old Twins Cap said:

Anyone who did not go to bed in the 8th inning last night needs to get a life.

For the rest of us, it's the highlight reel of baseball fantasies, which seemingly, never happens when we watch the actual game.

I'll take it for sure, but, I'd love to have it happen when I am watching.

 

The game ended around midnight Cinderella 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

The Kyle Farmer trade still paying dividends in a "3 degrees of Kevin Bacon" type of way. The Twins traded Casey Legumina to the Reds for Farmer. The Reds traded him to the Mariners and last night Legumina gave up the 6 runs in the 10th.

I'm happy it worked out but kinda sad to see Farm Dog scuffing along in Colorado. 

[Patzky]

26 minutes ago, arby58 said:

I like that feature as well - in fact, I plan to watch the game later today.

"INSTANT CLASSIC" 😏

[Jeff K]

4 hours ago, UK Twin said:

Just WOW. Munoz has been as dominant as you can be as a closer so one run looked beyond the Twins never mind three! Amazing comeback and the best win since the 2023 play offs. Credit to Matthews, who settled very nicely after a rough first inning.

Did a decent job coping without Buxton but in one game back he's shown why he's such a big player. We don't tie the game without his hit and SB. Glad we took our time with him - having had concussions in the past don't take any chances.

Correa is red hot as well - fitting way to close out a game with that great play as well. Huge games for Willi and Larnach. Huge team effort to come back like that.

Exactly what i was thinking about Buxton.  If he and Correa are going well at the same time, good things should follow.

[Patzky]

27 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

It definitely did not look good when Zebby got homer-happy in the first. Raleigh crushing a dinger was extra frustration because it was a 3-run shot where neither hit was exactly a solid shot. A little dribbler in the hole with some weird spin from Crawford and a dink from Polanco that barely got over Brooks Lee and into the OF. But suddenly it's 3-0. Credit to Zebby for not getting rattled after a rotten 1st inning where he was unlucky and got punished severely for his mistakes.

But huzzah for the offense when came alive and put some crooked numbers up on the board! 14 hits and 4 walks is going to get you a lot of runs, and it's great to see Buxton look like there's no lingering effects from the concussion. Larnach was excellent, Castro was an igniter...great work to not quit on the game and get a nice win,

Loved seeing Castro running full tilt on the (possible) HR! 

[Schmoeman5]

Just now, Patzky said:

Loves seeing Castro running full tilt on the possible HR! 

Unlike Carlos, who took off after he saw it might not get out.

[Schmoeman5]

3 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

Exactly what i was thinking about Buxton.  If he and Correa are going well at the same time, good things should follow.

The propaganda producers always insisted that it needed to be Buxton Correa and Lewis 

[Whitey333]

Great win for Twins!!  It was unbelievable.  Sometimes it's nice to have insomnia!!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Oops, Fat Lady got stuck in the doorway of her dressing room.

Looks like Brooks Lee is gonna make it.

Final out by Correa - damn.  The guy needs to retire a Twin.

[Bracky]

My son and I drove up from Oregon for the series. What game this was to watch live! The Mariner stadium was rocking after the 8th and just deflated in the 9th and 10th. A lot of Twins fans out here making noise!

Win Twins!

[JD-TWINS]

7 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

99.9% of viewers thought it was ball game after 1 inning. 99.9% of viewers knew it was over through the 8th. 9 runs later TWINS WIN! While most had long left. Shocker come Sat. morning.  

Watching from Cincinnati - Sands gives up home run with their closer up - TV off, too late here to hang any longer. SHOCKED this a.m. for sure!

Was really down on Matthews after the 3 run HR - fastball in, but not “in”, to the leader in HR’s ……..first two guys had seeing eye hits, Polanco’s was 80mph off the bat and Crawford 57mph. Arozarena hit a chin high 98mph fastball, so that was just a chance HR with bad timing for Zebby. He really showed a bunch of character continuing to grind to just get through 5, but he confidently got through 7……….he may be OK!

No idea how they got to 12 yet but that’s a big MO bump for the rest of the trip!

[Patzky]

14 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

The propaganda producers always insisted that it needed to be Buxton Correa and Lewis 

Positive Negative and Neutral charge makes up the world. I'll leave it for you to decide who is who.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Melissa said:

Thought I might be dreaming when I looked at my phone at 5:00 this morning Minnesota time and saw the score. The headline suggested to my sleepy eyes that somehow our guys had come back from a deficit, down to their last out in the ninth, to win, and win big!

Enjoyed watching the whole game through on my tablet. When Zebby gave up four in the first I would have thought it was over if I were watching live. But what a game nearly all round! Larnach, Castro, France, Correa, Jeffers, Buxton, Lee …

Matthews gets squeezed by umps all the time, but he persisted with a gritty performance through seven. Sands looking more and more shaky, but Jhoan and Brock locked it down.

Twins TV streaming with the ability to watch complete games live or later has been a real boon this year.

Matthews gave up 4 runs through 5 batters.

Lopez got rocked the other day. It happens. 

No reason to think Sands is crumbling because he isn’t perfect . He got the first two guys & screwed up and walked a guy…….then he’s pitching to his college teammate (roommate?) and he missed with the “pitch in” just like Matthews and he paid the price. He’ll be OK, IMO.

[JD-TWINS]

19 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

The propaganda producers always insisted that it needed to be Buxton Correa and Lewis 

Wallner would be nice, as we all know. He’s gotta be headed to Sacramento on Sunday, right?

If Lewis could just be Ty France, a tick above average, they’ll be good!

[Schmoeman5]

The Zebby who threw the 1st inning was not the same zebby who threw 2-7. 1st inning Zebby looked like a guy who thought he could overpower hitters. 2 through 7 had hitters off balance. Rinse and repeat that Zebby for the rest of the year please.

[chinmusic]

27 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Sometimes it's nice to have insomnia!!

I watched the condensed version on mlb.com this morning. It's a 10 minute clip, but I must have paused about 16 times to process the remarkable unfolding of events. 

i don't disagree with Provus, who called it the biggest win of the year!