Twins Beat Brewers 7-4, Claim 4th Win In A Row
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have done a lot of waiting for wins this season.
Miguel Sano and Byung Ho Park homered, and Minnesota had a season-best 14 hits Monday night in a 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that was shortened to six innings because of rain.
After losing their first nine games this year, the Twins have won four straight.
Rain started to fall in the sixth and it began pouring as Milwaukee reliever Tyler Cravy struck out Oswaldo Arcia to end the inning. Play was stopped and the game was called after a delay of 2 hours, 6 minutes.
"It feels kind of funny when you wait for 2 hours before you announce that you won a game, but it's a win," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Molitor and Brewers manager Craig Counsell had two extended meetings with the umpires on the field with rain still falling.
"We wanted to play, but they decided in the end that the rain is not going to stop and they didn't want to send the players out there in this or worse for the rest of the night," Counsell said of the umpires' decision.
Every Minnesota starter had a hit to support Phil Hughes, who earned his first win of the year. Hughes (1-2) allowed three earned runs and six hits with six strikeouts in an abbreviated complete game.
Chase Anderson (1-1) gave up five runs, four earned, and 11 hits in five innings for the Brewers, who have lost four of five.
Mounting strikeouts and an inability to hit with runners in scoring position marked the Twins' first week. But beginning with a weekend sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota's offense has found its way.
Anderson hadn't allowed an earned run in two starts spanning 11 innings this season, but Sano tied the game 1-all with his first homer leading off the second.
Park, the South Korean rookie who hit one of the longest homers in Target Field history on Saturday, led off the fourth with a shot estimated at 402 feet to the opposite field. Park had his first multihit game as Minnesota set a season high for runs.
"We knew it would turn," Twins first baseman Joe Mauer said. "Obviously, the first nine games wasn't the way that we planned or hoped to go, but we knew that wasn't going to be the case all year. We're glad that it's turning the right direction and hopefully we can keep playing the way we have."
Mauer's RBI double in the sixth pushed him past Harmon Killebrew for fifth in Twins history with 1,712 hits.
TAPE FIXES EVERYTHING
Play was interrupted at the beginning of the fifth inning after a door in the left field wall wouldn't stay closed. The Twins have a mascot race between innings that begins from a room behind the door.
Arcia tried to shut the door, but a grounds crew member had to come out and apply red tape to hold it shut.
WAITING A DAY
Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan said third baseman Trevor Plouffe will likely be placed on the disabled list before Tuesday's afternoon game, but Plouffe was active and in uniform Monday.
Plouffe sustained a right intercostal strain during Sunday's game. He said the injury was feeling better Monday, but Ryan said the team will likely make the disabled list move so it can add an infielder before traveling to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
ROSTER MOVE
Minnesota did make one move after the game, reinstating left-hander Fernando Abad from the bereavement list and optioning left-hander Taylor Rogers to Triple-A Rochester.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: Ryan said infielder Danny Santana, on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring injury, will travel Wednesday and is eligible to play Thursday with the Fort Myers Miracle on a rehab assignment. Santana was taking grounders with the team before Monday's game. ... Minnesota closer Glen Perkins (left posterior shoulder strain) had a second opinion on his pitching shoulder, which concurred with the team's original diagnosis. There is no timetable for Perkins to begin throwing.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (0-3, 10.13 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season after allowing five runs in five innings in his last outing. Opponents are hitting .385 (20 of 52) against him with four home runs.
Twins: Minnesota counters with RHP Ervin Santana (0-1, 3.00), who will also be starting his fourth game of the season. Santana gave up three runs in seven innings but lost at home to the Chicago White Sox last Thursday.
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