After taking series from division-leading Houston, the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay, the Twins welcomed second-place Cleveland to Target Field on a breezy summer's night Monday and kept on winning.
Jorge Polanco delivered his second consecutive walk-off plate appearance in a row and fourth this season, hitting an RBI double with two out in the 10th inning to lift the Twins to a 5-4 victory over Cleveland at Target Field on Monday night.
The Twins overcame four errors thanks to Polanco's latest clutch hit, which came after Rob Refsnyder grounded into a double play with nobody out and the bases loaded.
Polanco drove in Max Kepler with a sacrifice fly to beat Tampa Bay 5-4 on Sunday. Polanco also had a walk-off single against the White Sox on May 18 and a three-run homer on July 11 vs. Detroit.
It was the Twins eighth win in 11 games and came after the bullpen kept the game tied with a nearly perfect stretch of pitching.
John Gant, Juan Minaya, Alex Colome and Caleb Thielbar combined to pitch four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk after the game was tied 4-4 when Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers hit a 426-foot homer to left-center field in the sixth inning. That was his 11th home run this season.
Those 11 are the most in franchise history by a rookie catcher, breaking the 10 that Butch Wynegar hit in 1976.
Jeffers' homer came on a 2-0 pitch after Cleveland took a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons' fielding error that led to two unearned runs.
Starting pitcher Griffin Jax also made an error on an attempted pickoff play and left-fielder Jake Cave misplayed a double hit into the corner.
Jax made his sixth career start and his 10th appearance, bringing a 2-0 record, 2.66 ERA and .153 opponent batting average to Target Field.
He pitched six innings before Gant came on to start the seventh inning. Jax threw 81 pitches, 54 of them strikes. He gave up four runs – only two of them earned – and struck out three and allowed right-fielder Bradley Zimmer's second-inning homer.
Kepler led off the Twins' first inning with his 16th home run of the season, a 95-mph four-seam fastball that he drove into the right-field bleachers for an early 1-0 lead.
It was his 13th career lead-off homer, his second in three days and his third this season.
All three have come at Target Field, too.
It also moved him past World Series champion and Twins radio analyst Dan Gladden for third-most homers of the lead-off variety in team history.
On Sunday, Kepler doubled to left field to lead off the Twins' ninth inning, advanced to third on Tampa Bay left-fielder Austin Meadows' fielding error. He scored the winning run on Jorge Polanco's sacrifice fly that nearly reach the right-field overhang for a would-be homer. But a long sacrifice fly was more than enough for the Twins to take three consecutive series from division leaders Houston, Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay.
Before Monday's game, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was asked about Kepler's calm in pressure situations, whether it's beginning a game, a walk-off hitting opportunity or other ninth- or extra-inning situations.
"It's something that's not talked about very much, but it's something I think is very real," Baldelli said. "I don't even know if it's necessarily that some of these guys thrive in these situations. I think they just remain the same. The tension of coming up in those at-bats and the desire to do something very big takes over for some guys. There are a lot of guys who have played a long time in this game that really do not have very many walk-off hits at all.
"Kep, I think just goes up there, tries to get the bat on the ball and hit it hard somewhere. That's generally the right approach."
Kepler drove in a go-ahead run in the fourth inning as well, grounding a ball to the right side with one out and Cleveland, despite its defense shifted that way, couldn't turn a double play. Kepler was safe on a fielder's choice at first while Cave scored from third for a 3-2 lead that lasted a half-inning.
Cleveland tied the game in the top of the fifth after shortstop Amed Rosario doubled into the left-field corner and never broke stride, moving to third on the play when the ball briefly got by left-fielder Cave.
Rosario then scored on third baseman Jose Ramirez's single immediately after him and the score was tied 3-3.
Cleveland had tied the game on Zimmer's two-run home run to center field in the top of the second inning. It came off Jax's own four-seam fastball, a 93-mile pitch on an 0-1 count with nobody out.
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