Royce Lewis's grand slam sparks comeback, Twins beat Texas in marathon game
The Twins beat the Texas Rangers 7-6 in extra innings on a bases-loaded walk from reliever Jonathan Hernandez to complete a stunning comeback sparked by a Royce Lewis grand slam.
With two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Hernandez loaded the bases with consecutive walks before walking Michael A. Taylor, scoring Carlos Correa.
A four-ball walk with the bases loaded and the Twins beat the Rangers in 12 innings! pic.twitter.com/CB6slFs0Gb
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 27, 2023
The Twins had earlier completed a comeback from a 5-0 deficit when Lewis launched a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning and Donovan Solano struck an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras.
The win moves the Twins to 68-63 on the season, keeping them 6 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians who visit Minneapolis this week.
The game got off to an ominous start as Bailey Ober struggled on the mound. The Twins right hander allowed a solo home run to J.P. Martinez in the top of the second inning and loaded the bases for a Jonah Heim grand slam in the top of the fourth inning.
Down 5-0, things didn't look good for the Twins as they faced left-hander Jordan Montgomery. The Rangers' southpaw allowed four hits and two walks with four strikeouts while cruising through the first five innings but ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.
With the sacks full and Rangers reliever Chris Stratton coming into the game, Lewis got the Twins back into it with a 423-foot grand slam to bring the Twins within a run.
No way. Grand slam, Royce Lewis. Straightaway center. Twins are right back in this thing, down 5-4. pic.twitter.com/nuel1arrju
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) August 27, 2023
Dallas Keuchel came in to toss five scoreless innings of relief to keep the Twins in the game and after Taylor drew a one-out walk, he advanced to second on Aroldis Chapman's third disengagement to third base and scored on the game-tying single by Solano.
WE'VE GOT A TIE BALLGAME!!! #MNTWINS x #STRAIGHTUPTX pic.twitter.com/GezN5H5csA
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) August 27, 2023
Despite the rally, extra innings were filled with missed opportunities including a base-running gaffe by pinch-runner Joey Gallo that helped the Rangers get out of the bottom of the 11th inning.
This was followed by Solano giving up a crucial out in the 12th by attempting to advance from second to third as Taylor scored on Jorge Polanco's grounder, only to get tagged out.
Joey Gallo on the backend of a unique double play pic.twitter.com/RP7WO2Xn5o
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 27, 2023
The Twins will open a critical three-game series with the second-place Cleveland Guardians when Kenta Maeda (3-7, 4.22 ERA) opposes Xzavion Curry (3-2, 3.51 ERA) on Monday night.
