Cruz's walk-off double lifts Twins past Pirates 5-4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nelson Cruz's RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Minnesota Twins a 5-4 victory Monday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates for their fourth straight win.

Cruz, who knocked in two runs to raise his season total to 14 RBIs, drove a pitch from Pirates reliever and former Twins draft pick Nick Burdi (0-1) over the head of center fielder Cole Tucker with runners at second and third and one out. Jorge Polanco started the ninth with a single, moved up on a passed ball and advanced again on a flyout by Luis Arraez.

The Pirates (2-8), who lost their fifth consecutive game and have the worst record in the major leagues, put a runner on against Twins closer Taylor Rogers (1-0) but were unable to convert.

Tucker homered on the first pitch of the night while batting leadoff for the first time in his career for the Pirates, who squandered a 4-0 lead.

Derek Holland had a masterful start going for Pittsburgh, with just two singles allowed over the first 18 batters he faced, but Cruz drove in a run with a single and Max Kepler hit a two-out, two-run double to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Miguel Del Pozo relieved Holland and issued three straight walks, allowing Kepler to score the tying run on a wild pitch. Left fielder Bryan Reynolds made a sprawling catch of a sinking line drive by Ehire Adrianza to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Holland matched the longest start for the Pirates this season with 5 2/3 innings, twice each by him and Joe Musgrove. The Pirates are five days into a 17-day stretch without an off day.

Tucker, the team's first-round draft pick in 2014, started the game by sending left-hander Lewis Thorpe's 88 mph fastball into the bleachers in left-center where some of the Pirates relievers sat to socially distance from the rest of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Cruz-s-walk-off-double-lifts-Twins-past-Pirates-15456271.php