Polanco 3-run blast stuns Reds in 7-5 Twins win

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jorge Polanco delivered a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 7-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Heath Hembree (2-6) walked the first two Minnesota batters before striking out Brent Rooker. Polanco fouled off four two-strike pitches before connecting on a liner just inside the foul pole in right field.

Mitch Garver had a three-run homer in the fifth for the Twins, who had lost four of their previous five games.

Danny Coulombe (2-1) got the final out of the eighth. Alex Colomé allowed a single and walk to start the Cincinnati ninth before finishing for his third save and first since April 7.

Jonathan India’s two-run homer in the fifth off Kenta Maeda gave the Reds a 5-4 lead. Eugenio Suárez and Tucker Barnhart went deep on Maeda’s first two pitches in the third.

Cincinnati couldn't hold the lead in the opener of a six-game homestand coming off a 5-2 road trip.

The Reds are trying to keep pace with NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which started the day 7½ games ahead. Cincinnati also trails San Diego for the second wild-card spot.

Cincinnati's Joey Votto went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his second game since a seven-game streak with at least one homer.

India, named on Monday July’s NL Rookie of the Month, followed Shogo Akiyama’s pinch-hit single with a blast off Maeda that landed 10 rows deep in the left field stands.

Maeda led off Minnesota’s fifth with a single to left. After Rooker walked with one out, Garver’s three-run shot landed in virtually the same spot as India’s homer in the top of the inning, giving the Twins a 4-3 lead.

Maeda lasted five innings, giving up seven hits and five runs with one walk and nine strikeouts. Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle also went five, allowing six...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Polanco-3-run-blast-stuns-Reds-in-7-5-Twins-win-16362073.php