MINNEAPOLIS _ The Twins have lived by the home run this season, scoring more than half of their runs via their power trips, some from unexpected sources. So the Rays tried to make the formula their own Wednesday.
Nice try, anyway.
Tampa Bay crushed three long home runs, and held the major leagues' home-run leaders in the park all night. But ultimately, Minnesota's offense found alternate routes to the usual destination: a 6-4 victory over the Rays at Target Field.
The Twins were held without a long ball for only the second time this month and 14th time this season. But they improved to 14-6 in those homer-free games by putting together a pair of three-run rallies, with five of the runs driven in by their All-Star starting candidates.
Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron hit back-to-back singles in the first inning to drove home runs, and Rosario scored a third on a Charlie Morton wild pitch. And in the seventh inning, with the Twins trailing 4-3, Nelson Cruz slugged a bases-loaded double more than 400 feet to the warning track in center field, driving home the game-winners.
Rosario, Cron and Cruz, along with Jorge Polanco, will all learn Thursday whether they have been elected to the AL All-Star team.
Tampa Bay deserves credit for their homer-centric ploy Wednesday, given the degree of difficulty. The Twins used Jake Odorizzi, who had allowed the fewest homers in their rotation, and Trevor May, the most homer-free pitcher in their bullpen. Naturally, Odorizzi allowed two blasts, May surrendered the tie-breaker, and the Twins appeared headed to their fourth loss in seven games.
No team has hit more homers this season than the Twins, and only the Rays, by coincidence, had allowed fewer in the AL. But Kevin Kiermaier blasted an over-the-middle fastball over the center-field fence in the second inning, a two-run shot, and Tommy Pham surprised Odorizzi by slicing a first-pitch cutter into the right-field seats in the sixth.
That tied the score and an inning later, Willy Adames untied it against May with a 424-foot cannon shot into the berm beyond the center-field fence.
That only set up the seventh-inning dramatics, however. Jason Castro led off with a sharp single to right, and Jake Cave followed with a grounder to first base. But Morton dropped the toss from first baseman Ji-Man Choi, and Cave was save.
Two batters later, makeshift outfielder Luis Arraez lined his second hit of the night, loading the bases. And with two outs, the Rays turned to right-hander Emilio Pagan to face Cruz. It didn't go well. Pagan fed the veteran a steady diet of sliders, one of which Cruz fouled off, one he swung at and missed. But the third one was low in the strike zone and Cruz dug it out, just missing a grand slam to center field. It brought home three runs, though, and put the Twins in the lead.
