Twins 9, Rockies 8: Extra-Innings Walk-Off Redeems Late Blown Lead

Box Score
Taj Bradley: 7+ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (12), Brooks Lee (14)
Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.420), Andrew Morris (.310), Taj Bradley (.200)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Are the Dodgers gone? Thank God.

Unalienable is the feeling of getting your (Butt) beat. Just thrashed. The brutal knowledge that your opponent is simply better; and that any success on your end is a fluke, a mirage occasionally fading into sight, just to turn sour eventually. And it will. Thus is the mandate when the Great matches up against the meager Just Fine. Fortunately, not every team is Great, and sometimes, another Just Fine rolls into town just in time for a beleaguered team to lick their wounds and move on.

The Rockies entered town a common opponent; not particularly impressive in any facet—though probably better than their last three 100-loss efforts. They play baseball. Sometimes it’s good baseball. They command a few players of unordinary stature. But their purple and black hides very little: this is a doldrum team that could offer solace to a Twins squad in need of some mojo.

And so it was early on Friday. The two teams could hardly exchange pleasant greetings before Kody Clemens stepped up to the plate with a man on and pounced on a Tomoyuki Sugano splitter, blasting the offering into the right-field overhang.

Not to be one-upped, Brooks Lee did the exact same thing in the second. 

The Twins took a two inning break from their mayhem before returning for more in the fifth for a double-infested rally, manifest in acuity and action as the lineup turned what was a two-out situation into a three-run frame that would soon chase the starter Sugano from the game and turn what was a normal lead into the sort of advantage that can put even the most stringent manager at ease. Trevor Larnach hit the first double. Byron Buxton, the second. Then Clemens walked and Josh Bell sharply parted the left-center gap to cap the innings’ action.

By his lack of appearance so far, Taj Bradley’s dominance should be self-evident. The Rockies had no answer. His fastball overwhelmed, and his breaking stuff befuddled; the innings melted into each as the outs piled up, slowly morphing a potentially good outing into an undeniably great one. He finished with seven innings pitched and just two earned runs allowed, and neither run scored while he was on the mound.

Right. So. That was all from the Before Times. Well, between the eighth and ninth when a victory appeared imminent. And it should have been: the Twins entered the game's final frame the owners of a convincing 7-3 lead. It should have been enough. Not one soul in the stands, watching on TV, or standing in the Twins dugout could have believed the game to be in any serious danger.

And yet! That's not how the ninth played out. A walk portended an RBI double. So be it. Then a homer. Alright, matters might be somewhat serious now. Backs straightened. A carefree tone and vigor in the dugout now altered, impacted by the sudden realization of what could be reality. Derek Shelton's decisions suddenly carry immense weight. He brought in Anthony Banda. A double. A homer. What was once a lead, eviscerated. One swing turning a fun romp into a disappointing disadvantage.

But the Twins buckled down. Steeled up, Whatever. An Austin Martin blooper and Ryan Kreidler single put Minnesota back into business. They could save this situation. Buxton chopped a ball to Willi Castro at third and... the unexpected big hop ate up the third baseman. The ball was in left field. Martin was scrambling home.

Andrew Morris stranded his Manfred Man in the tenth, and a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning moved Minnesota's rule-forced runner to third. With the infield in, Royce Lewis shot a grounder up the middle and safely into center field. The pinch-runner Kyler Fedko scampered home safely, and the Twins saved what could have been a tragic, inconceivable loss. 

Notes:

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Rockies meet once more in a Saturday evening showdown, pitting two namesakes against each other: the casual Mike Parades against the professional Michael Lorenzen. First pitch is at 6:10 PM. 

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