CINCINNATI — Twins and Reds fans may regret that their teams don't play more often than every three years. The teams' bullpens are undoubtedly grateful.
One night after turning a loss into a victory on Jorge Polanco's ninth-inning homer, the Twins rallied from a five-run deficit with four runs in the eighth. But the comeback fell one run short, and the Twins left Great American Ballpark with a 6-5 loss and a split of the back-and-forth two-game series.
Their two games at Target Field in June were the same way, too: Lots off offense, plenty of big home runs, and late-inning uprisings galore. In splitting four games, both teams scored at least five runs in each, including a fasten-your-seatbelts total of 24 runs in the eighth inning or later.
And on Wednesday, amid a rally that included three doubles and an RBI single, the most decisive pitch may have been one that didn't draw a swing. With one out and Ryan Jeffers representing the tying run at first base, Josh Donaldson fouled off three tough pitches from Reds righthander Michael Lorenzen. The fourth pitch, a 97-mph fastball, stayed several inches off the plate, but umpire DJ Reyburn ruled it a strike, a critical out for Cincinnati, particularly when Max Kepler followed with a double but wound up stranded along with Jeffers.
Lorenzen pitched the ninth, too, and battled for eight pitches before finally striking out Polanco, who homered in both games of this series. Luis Arraez singled, the fifth time during the day he reached base, but the game ended when Miguel Sano grounded into a double play, his second rally-killer of the game.
