MINNEAPOLIS _ Paul Molitor feared that the Brewers, having won the first two games during their annual trek to the Twin Cities, would approach Sunday's finale as a "house money kind of game." He just didn't realize how careless they would be with it.
Milwaukee committed an error to help the Twins score the game's first run, then walked three batters to set up the decisive eighth-inning rally on Sunday, and the Twins capitalized on all the neighborly help to capture a 3-1 victory at Target Field.
Logan Morrison smacked a 95-mph fastball from Boone Logan off the right-field wall, driving home Brian Dozier and Max Kepler to break a 1-1 tie. The RBIs were Morrison's third and fourth of the season off a left-handed pitcher, and was the critical blow in the Twins' ending their three-game losing streak.
Jake Odorizzi pitched well once again, making only one mistake _ but Jesus Aguilar, as he has done all weekend, slugged it deep into the seats. It was Aguilar's fourth home run of the series, leaving him just one short of the Target Field record for a three-game series, set by Jose Bautista in 2011 and tied by Josh Donaldson in 2016.
Taylor Rogers, Ryan Pressly and Addison Reed held the Brewers scoreless, and Fernando Rodney finished them off by striking out the side in the ninth for his seventh consecutive save, and ninth on the season. Rodney has pitched nine consecutive scoreless inning.
Byron Buxton singled in the sixth inning, stole second base _ his 29th straight successful steal, but first since April 12 _ and advanced to third base on a throwing error by catcher Jett Bandy, allowing him to jog home on Max Kepler's single to center.
For Odorizzi, it was the continuation of a month of effective pitching, the fourth time in his last five starts that he has allowed no more than one run. In fact, by putting up a 1.93 ERA over those five starts, the right-hander has his season ERA down to 3.17.
His secret: getting even stingier when runners reach base. Aguilar's home run snapped Odorizzi's streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings, but his streak of holding batters hitless with runners in scoring position remains alive at 0-for-15, dating back to May 3.
Odorizzi didn't have many chances to extend that one on Sunday, giving up only three singles and a walk over the first five innings, and picking Tyler Saladini off first base when the shortstop led off the third inning with a hit. Aguilar's home run, on an 0-2 fastball that was a couple of inches above the strike zone, was a setback, and when Odorizzi walked Travis Shaw and allowed an infield hit by Hernan Perez, his day was suddenly over after throwing 108 pitches, most by a Twin this year.
