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 Right fielder Torii Hunter collected three hits, including a home
run, to spark the resurgent Minnesota offense in an 8-5 victory over
the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
"We put him in the two-hole today, just mixing things up day to
day," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "His bat seems fresh and
quick. He's rallying the troops."
The game was delayed two hours and 11 minutes largely due to an
approaching storm that fizzled out before reaching the ballpark.
Shortly after the tarp was removed, Hunter started the scoring with
a solo home run in the first inning, providing early run support for
starter Phil Hughes, who allowed four runs (two earned) in 6 2/3
innings.
Hughes' self-assurance is peaking.
"You always gain confidence when things are going right and you're
winning games," Hughes said. "It's high, for sure. I'm throwing the
ball better than I did the beginning of the year. I hope that
continues."
Left fielder Marlon Byrd and shortstop Eugenio Suarez each hit solo
homers for Cincinnati (35-41), which lost for the fourth time in
five games.
Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani, starting against the Twins for the
first time in his career, battled command issues throughout his 6
2/3 innings. He allowed six runs and 11 hits with two walks and
seven strikeouts.
"They do a nice job of putting the ball in play," Reds manager Bryan
Price said of the Twins. "They don't have many strikeouts. I think
they're one of the lowest strikeout teams in baseball, if not the
lowest strikeout team."
DeSclafani (5-6) threw 122 pitches.
"Unfortunately, we were a little short in the bullpen, and I had to
leave him out there a little longer than I wanted," Price said.
The Twins (41-36) broke the game open with a four-run seventh.
Shortstop Eduardo Nunez and catcher Kurt Suzuki hit RBI singles,
both off right-hander Burke Badenhop, to push the margin to 7-1.
"They've got a good team," DeSclafani said. "If you make mistakes,
they're going to get hits. I thought I did a good job up to the
seventh. I've got to do a better job in that inning."
Byrd started a Cincinnati rally with his 13th homer leading off the
seventh.
Hughes (7-6) threw 29 pitches in the seventh before running out of
gas. Shortly thereafter, things unraveled briefly for the Twins.
A pair of errors, a wild pitch and RBI singles by second baseman
Ivan De Jesus Jr. and first baseman Joey Votto contributed to a
four-run inning for Cincinnati.
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The Twins committed three errors in the game.
"You separate yourselves a little bit, then you give all four of
(the runs) back," Molitor said. "They kept finding ways to extend
the inning."
However, the Reds couldn't complete the comeback, as left-hander
Glen Perkins threw a scoreless ninth inning for his 25th save.
Following the long rain delay, Hunter launched DeSclafani's 2-2
pitch into the left-center-field stands, putting the Twins ahead 1-0
in the first. It was Hunter's 12th homer of the season.
In the second, Nunez doubled and later scored from third when Votto
threw wildly to the plate, making it 2-0.
Hughes mostly cruised through the first four frames, aside from a
1-2 pitch to Suarez, which was crushed an estimated 414 feet for his
second homer this season leading off the third.
Minnesota first baseman Joe Mauer's sacrifice fly made the score 3-1
in the fifth.
The Twins finished June with an 11-17 record.
"It's an easy night when you're sitting around for a long time to
come out flat, but we did the converse thing, which was really good
to see," Molitor said.
NOTES: There have been 15 rain delays in Cincinnati this season
totaling 21 hours, 11 minutes with three postponements and one
suspension. ... Reds 2B Brandon Phillips missed his second game in a
row with two sore hands. He took ground balls prior to the game to
determine his status for Wednesday's series finale against the
Twins. ... RHP Jose Berrios, the Twins' fourth-ranked prospect, was
promoted to Triple-A Rochester. Berrios went 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA and
92 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings in Double-A. ... The Reds-Detroit
Tigers game that was rained out on June 18 will be made up Aug. 24
at Great American Ball Park.
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