A longer game has never been played at Target Field, and in the history of the Minnesota Twins franchise only three other contests have stretched beyond the five hour 45 minute mark that finally ended the 17-inning marathon between the Twins and Boston Red Sox last night, a game in which both teams sent eight pitchers to the mound.
It appeared things would end in the 13th when the visitors scored a run to go up 3-2 only to have the Twins tie it on a home run by Max Kepler in the bottom of that frame.
And by now, if you didn't stay up until one in the morning eastern standard time to find out, you probably just want to know who won this hardball war of attrition, and it brings me no joy to tell you that it was the Twins who emerged with a 4-3 victory when the aforementioned Kepler sneaked a walk-off single through a five-man infield.
Kepler wasn't even in the starting line-up for the Twins, but was inserted as a pinch hitter in the sixth and stayed on for another 12 innings, dashing the Red Sox hopes with those two crushing hits, the final one off reliever Brian Johnson, who actually started for the Red Sox on Sunday but was forced back to the hill when the game dragged on past midnight.
The Red Sox best chance to win the game, other than when they went up 3-2 in the 13th, was when they had a runner on third and nobody out in that fateful 17th inning, but Zack Littell left Andrew Benintendi stranded. Helping him wriggle free from that jam was JD Martinez, who struck out for the fifth time in a game he will not look back on kindly.
Starter David Price went just five innings for Boston and tonight's starter, Eduardo Rodriguez, will be asked to at least match his career high of seven innings achieved in his last start. Everyone else will be napping.
The marathon loss also hurts because the Red Sox fell to six and a half games behind the first place NY Yankees, who doubled up the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 in the Bronx. And here's an example of the kind of problems the Yankees are having these days. They're getting one of the game's best home run hitters back to the line-up this week, and Aaron Judge would presumably take the place of outfielder Cameron Maybin, but his home run last night was his fourth in as many games and he's making it tough for manager Aaron Boone to put him on the bench.
Newly acquired slugger Edward Encarnacion got his first hit in a Yankee uniform last night and if you think it was a home run, you're right. The Seattle Mariners should be fined a thousand dollars by the league for every homer Encarnacion hits til the end of the season as punishment for sending him to a team that needs more power like the Internet needs more trolls.
The NY Mets cooled off the lava hot Atlanta Braves by throwing Jacob deGrom at them, the Mets ace breezing into the 9th with a shut-out in New York's eventual 10-3 win. Rookie Pete Alonso had a career high four hits for the Mets, including a home run.
The L.A. Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered for Toronto but they've now lost six straight at home.
Home runs by Nick Ward and Jordan Diaz got the Vermont Lake Monsters off to a hot start, and the bats kept connecting as the Monsters went on to a 7-3 win over the Hudson Valley Renegades at Centennial Field in Burlington. Rafael Kelly went five innings to get the win, which improves Vermont to 4-1.
In the NECBL the Vermont Mountaineers scored a 6-2 home win against the Martha's Vineyard Sharks. Corey DiLoreto laced a two run single in a three run third inning to back winning pitcher Ryan Murphy.
Senior Lia Rotti of St. Johnsbury won the Vermont High School decathlon for the second year in a row, finishing just 33 points shy of her own state record established when she won the competition last year in the girl's field.
On the boy's side, Essex sophomore Wyatt Lamell claimed top honors following the two-day competition which consisted of ten different athletic competitions.
