, the eighth reliever and the 22nd player used by the Rays during the game that lasted 5:42 after rain delayed the first pitch by 57 minutes, threw three scoreless innings for the victory.After the first eight relievers for the Twins allowed just two hits over a combined 10 innings, Ryne Harper (3-1) faltered in the 18th while pitching for the third straight game and the sixth time in the past 10 days.The Rays loaded the bases with nobody out, just as they did in the 10th against Blake Parker when they failed to score. Diaz hit a medium-depth fly ball with one out to left fielder Luis Arraez, whose strong throw was a little too far up the first-base line for catcher Jason Castro to catch and make the tag before Brandon Lowe's left hand grazed the plate on his head-first slide.Willy Adames and Ji-Man Choi followed with RBI singles to give the Rays some insurance and salvage a 3-7 record from this three-time zone road trip. Just 13 days ago, they led the American League East by a half-game over the New York Yankees. Now they're 6 1/2 games back.Rays pitchers set a franchise record with 22 strikeouts. This matched their longest game in history, innings-wise, and this was also the most innings played in Target Field's 10-season history. The Twins beat the Boston Red Sox in 17 innings just last week.The Twins turned to starter Kyle Gibson (9-4) for the 17th inning, his first relief appearance in 170 career games.WAY BACK WHENRyne Stanek made his major league-leading 23rd start for the Rays in their trendsetting opener role, falling behind 2-0 in the first of his two innings. Arraez had the third hit of the frame for the Twins, a sharp two-out single to right field that prompted third base coach Tony Diaz to wave Nelson Cruz home.The throw by Guillermo Heredia would've beaten the 38-year-old designated hitter by a long way, but the ball skipped past catcher Mike Zunino for an error on Heredia as Cruz safely reached the plate.The Twins, who lead the major leagues in runs and several other hitting categories, left starter Martin Perez hanging after he allowed only three hits over seven stellar innings.After allowing consecutive two-out RBIs in the second that tied the game, a double by Michael Brosseau in his first major league start and a single by Heredia, Perez finished his afternoon by retiring 16 consecutive batters. Perez was 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in his previous five turns.The Twins, who were missing three regulars from their lineup to injuries, went without a home run in two straight games for the first time since May 30-31, also against the Rays.The Rays, who improved to just 11-16 since beating the Twins 14-3 on May 30, were further thinned when center fielder Kevin Kiermaier departed with tightness in his lower right leg in the second inning.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: 3B Yandy Diaz was reinstated from the injured list after the minimum 10-day stay and placed in the cleanup spot in the batting order. To make room on the roster, RHP Hunter Wood, who has a 2.24 ERA in 24 innings, was sent to Triple-A for the third time this month.Twins: The multi-positional Willians Astudillo, who has spent most of his time behind the plate, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. He said he initially hurt the muscle while making a catch against the wall in RF on Tuesday, then aggravated it while swinging in his last at-bat on Wednesday. OF LaMonte Wade was recalled from Triple-A to fill his spot, the first time in the major leagues for the ninth-round draft pick in 2015.UP NEXTRays: The starting pitcher for the series opener on Friday night against Texas has yet to be determined. RHP Lance Lynn (9-4, 4.32 ERA) takes the mound for the Rangers, as the Rays start a 10-game homestand that lasts until the All-Star break.Twins: RHP Jose Berrios (8-3, 2.84 ERA) will take his 17th turn of the season in Chicago on Friday night, opening a three-game series. Berrios has a 1.63 ERA in four starts this month. The White Sox were waiting to announce their starting pitcher.---More baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Twins aim for sweep of slumping RaysFLMLeft-hander Martin Perez will take the mound for American League Central-leading Minnesota on Thursday afternoon as the Twins try to finish off a three-game series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in Minneapolis.Minnesota knocked off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in a 9-4 win on Tuesday, then rallied to hand Charlie Morton just his second loss in 10 decisions in a 6-4 victory on Wednesday.The defeat on Wednesday guaranteed the first losing month of the season for the Rays, who are 10-15 in June and have dropped seven of their last nine games. The good news is that Tampa Bay, despite the poor month, is still 10 games over .500 and has the best record among second-place teams in the AL.Nelson Cruz's two-out, three-run double in the seventh rallied the Twins on Wednesday night. Cruz drilled a 0-2 slider from reliever Emilio Pagan into the gap in left center where it bounced off the fence on one hop to put Minnesota in front 6-4."Just get something I could hit," Cruz said when asked what his mindset was before the pitch. "I was lucky enough to hit it in the gap and get us the lead." "Nobody likes to see (Cruz) with men on base," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "He's been doing that a long time." Cruz's hit spoiled what had been an impressive comeback for Tampa Bay from a 3-0 first-inning deficit against Jake Odorizzi and the Twins. Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer, and Tommy Pham and Willy Adames each had solo shots. Adames' 424-foot drive to dead center off reliever Trevor May gave the Rays a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh."They're all tough," Cash said of the loss. "There's no doubt. We've got to try and find a way to stay positive, and that's much easier said than done right now because I'm sure there are plenty of guys who are frustrated."That's going to happen over the course of a long season. We recognize that. And when you play a good team, it's even tougher. That's kind of what we've been up against on this road trip." Morton added, "All teams go through this. All teams have rough stretches in the season. The goal is to minimize that and not let the momentum get to the point where it's really difficult to turn it around." Facing Perez (7-3, 4.28 ERA) on Thursday afternoon may be just what the Rays need. The 28-year-old is 0-4 with a 7.49 ERA in nine career games, seven starts, against the Rays, his worst record against any opponent. He was on the losing end of a 14-3 drubbing by the Rays on May 30, when he allowed six runs on six hits and two walks in just 2 2/3 innings.Tampa Bay will counter with right-handed opener Ryne Stanek (0-1, 2.47 ERA) before turning it over to lefty Jalen Beeks (5-0, 2.95 ERA). Stanek is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in five career appearances, two starts, against Minnesota.The Twins likely will be without All-Star hopeful Eddie Rosario, who leads the team in home runs (20) and RBIs (60). Rosario left the Wednesday night contest in the third inning after turning his left ankle while rounding first base and trying to stretch a single into a double."Eddie's doing pretty well," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said postgame. "I heard he was actually on crutches, but that was more precautionary than anything else. He had some testing done -- an MRI and some imaging -- and it all came back looking good."It's an ankle sprain. It seems like it's not an overly severe ankle sprain at that. We might have lucked out a little bit." --Field Level Media
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