The Minnesota Twins were so ready to turn the page to playoff baseball. Hence, the decision to send an outfielder to the mound in an extra-inning game. Brenton Doyle scored from second base on a wild pitch in the 11th inning by outfielder-turned-pitcher Jordan Luplow, and the Colorado Rockies rallied for a 3-2 win over the playoff-bound Twins on Sunday in the regular-season finale.
Jo Adell homered, Kenny Rosenberg outpitched Sonny Gray and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Twins 1-0 on Saturday, a day after Minnesota clinched the AL Central title. Rosenberg (2-2), a 28-year-old left-hander making his fourth big league start and ninth appearance, allowed five hits and two walks in five innings with five strikeouts. Carlos Estévez, the Angels' fourth reliever, hit Kyle Farmer with a pitch starting the ninth, then got three straight outs for his 31st save in 35 chances.
Jonathan Hernández walked three batters in the 13th inning, among a season-high 10 walks by Texas pitchers, and the Rangers dropped out of first place in the AL West for the first time since early April with a 7-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Texas wasted a 5-0 lead built with Jonah Heim’s grand slam and J.P. Martinez solo homer, and Royce Lewis started Minnesota’s comeback with a sixth-inning slam.
Byron Buxton wasn't particularly excited that his first-inning home run was measured by Statcast at 466 feet, the second-longest of his career only to the 469-foot walk-off he hit against Liam Hendriks in April 2022. And he didn't care much that his second home run, and team-high 13th of the season, two innings later sailed only one foot shorter. "It doesn't matter as long as we win," Buxton .
The Boston Red Sox will look to ride the momentum of a walk-off win when they continue a four-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers on Friday night.
Michael Lorenzen fell two outs short of his first career complete game and Mike Trout had two hits, including a solo home run, as the visiting Los Angeles Angel