OAKLAND, Calif. _ The Minnesota Twins were wobbling, hobbling and sputtering toward the All-Star break.
They were playing like they were feeling the effects of playing one 17-inning game, one 18-inning game and placing six players on the disabled list since June 18. No doubt, baseball is a grind, and there are inevitable stretches where rosters are challenged and visits to the hot/cold tubs increase.
But the good teams grind back, ad-lib and win with what they've got. The tubs had to idly sit for 12 innings before being used Wednesday night, but Mitch Garver ended the waiting with an RBI single in the 12th inning to lift the Twins over the Oakland Athletics, 4-3.
Garver started the Twins' first rally with an RBI single in the sixth inning, then delivered the key hit in their last. Byron Buxton _ who botched a suicide-squeeze attempt, then struck out in the seventh inning to douse one promising Twins rally _ drew a one-out walk from A's reliever Blake Treinen to start the 12th. Max Kepler also walked, putting runners on first and second.
Garver then singled sharply to left, with the speedy Buxton joyously diving across home plate with the ball barely back into the infield. Oakland escaped with no further damage, and Taylor Rogers came on to pitch the bottom of the 12th.
Matt Chapman reached first on an error by Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop and, with one out, streaked into third on Jurickson Profar's single to left. Profar, however _ after being called safe at second on the throw to third _ was ruled out via replay. Granted that reprieve, Rogers struck out Mark Canha to end the game and pick up his 11th save in 14 opportunities.
The Twins clawed back from an early 3-0 deficit with single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, the last one coming on a two-out, two-strike home run by Jorge Polanco to tie the score. The home run, the Twins' 161st this season, tied last year's New York Yankees for the most home runs before the All-Star break in Major League Baseball history.
Kyle Gibson pitched the Twins into a 3-0 hole in the second inning, while A's righthander Mike Fiers made it look easy as he retired the first 14 Twins batters he faced. But the Twins woke up in the middle innings and responded with two runs.
The seventh will go down as one big missed opportunity.
Luis Arraez led off with a single. Yusmerio Petit replaced him but gave up a one-out single to Ehire Adrianza.
Schoop followed with a bouncing ball to short that threatened to become a double play. Marcus Semien fed Franklin Barreto at second, but Barreto made a meal out of the play. First, he took his foot off second, so Adrianza was safe. Then he threw wildly to first, so Schoop was safe and Arraez scored to make it 3-2.
Adrianza was initially called out at second, but the Twins smartly challenged the call and had it overturned. Adrianza was placed at third.
The Twins promptly gambled with their new gift.
A squeeze play was called but Buxton, 1-for-13 since coming off the injured list at that point, missed a buntable pitch from Petit. Adrianza was caught in a rundown and tagged out. Then Buxton struck out as the Twins' momentum wafted from Oakland Coliseum and out into the Bay Area.
