Sanó homer lifts Twins past Reds 7-5 in 12 innings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Miguel Sanó hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning to lift Minnesota past Cincinnati 7-5 on Monday night — the fifth straight victory for the Twins and fifth loss in a row for the Reds.

With a five-man infield and a runner on third, Sanó hammered a 3-1 slider from Heath Hembree (1-3) over the wall in left-center. It was Minnesota's fourth consecutive extra-innings win after eight straight losses in extras to start the season.

The game lasted 5:14 and ended 30 minutes past midnight, after beginning on a somber note with a remembrance of the late Mike Bell — the former Reds player and Twins coach who was the younger brother of Cincinnati manager David Bell and died of cancer earlier this year.

Matt Shoemaker (3-8), whose struggles as a starter prompted a recent demotion to the bullpen, pitched two hitless innings for the win. Shoemaker loaded the bases in the 12th after two walks, one intentional, but struck out Eugenio Suárez — who had a homer and three RBIs — to escape.

Luis Arraez had two RBIs for the Twins, who lost star center fielder Byron Buxton to another injury.

The late innings were quite the testament to endurance and resilience, with a bit of unstable relief pitching mixed in.

Sean Doolittle retired Andrelton Simmons on a flyout that required a long run by left fielder Tyler Naquin to end the 11th.

Nick Castellanos, in a 5-for-26 slide, gave the Reds the lead with a single in the 10th against Jorge Alcala for his first RBI in eight games. Suárez, who had an earlier two-run homer, added a sacrifice fly to turn the game over to Doolittle.

The left-hander gave up an RBI double to Arraez and a sacrifice fly to Trevor Larnach as the Twins sent a game to the 11th inning for the first time this season. They're 3-8 in 10-inning games.

Taylor...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/San-homer-lifts-Twins-past-Reds-7-5-in-12-16264174.php