|
 Vargas, the hulking designated hitter turned first baseman of the
Minnesota Twins, smacked an off-speed pitch over the right-field
wall with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the
Twins to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Target Field on
Thursday.
It was a remarkable turn of events for the 24-year-old Vargas, who
had grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded
and one out just two innings earlier.
After the double play, Twins manager Paul Molitor told Vargas he
might get another chance to make a difference. Molitor's words of
wisdom ended up being prophetic.
"You never know how things will transpire," Molitor said. "Those are
the moments you look to see how your young players respond."
It has been a tough season for Vargas, who already has been sent
down and recalled from Triple-A. Since returning to Minnesota on
June 6, Vargas hadn't hit much of anything hard and entered the game
with just three hits in 23 at-bats since his recall.
"This game, I was just trying to have fun," Vargas said. "I wasn't
having fun a lot the games before. This morning, I was talking to
Molitor and he told me to have fun, take off some of the pressure
and play my game."
Vargas' ninth-inning heroics were set up in part by a tying solo
blast by designated hitter Joe Mauer, who got the Twins on the board
with an opposite-field shot on a full count with two outs in the
eighth inning. The homer was his third of the season.
"It was looking a little bit grim there because both pitchers were
locked in," Molitor said. "A huge hit. Kept us in the game and gave
us a chance."
Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey didn't figure into the decision, but
he pitched eight innings of one-run ball, allowing only a solo homer
to Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward.
With the game still scoreless and two outs, Pelfrey fell behind
Heyward 3-1 and left a fastball over the heart of the plate that
Heyward yanked over the wall in right for his sixth of the year.
Pelfrey threw his hands to his head and bent over at the waist
disgusted with himself.
"The Cardinals are the best team in baseball for a reason," Pelfrey
said. "Those guys pitch, they play defense and they were tough on us
all series. Coming in, I knew it was going to be a tough one."
Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia was good, too, pitching six
scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a pair of walks while
striking out four.
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"He threw terrific," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "Really
had a good feel for everything; fastball was sinking on both sides
of the plate, he had a little bit of a cutter, his changeup was
plus, was smart with his curveball. Just a shame we couldn't make
more of it."
Carlos Villanueva took the loss, giving up Vargas' homer after
retiring the first two batters he faced in the ninth.
"I threw the pitch I wanted to," Villanueva said. "I shook to it, I
threw it, he hit it. In those situations, there's no room for
mistakes. You give up a run and you lose."
Minnesota's Blaine Boyer earned his second victory, working around a
leadoff double in the top of the ninth, preserving the 1-1 tie.
Minnesota and St. Louis each swept the home portion of the two-game
home-and-home series, with the Cardinals winning Monday and Tuesday
at Busch Stadium. Minnesota won 3-1 at Target Field on Wednesday
night.
The winning teams in the four games combined to score just 11 runs.
NOTES: Cardinals C Yadier Molina earned a day off in the field; he
was the designated hitter and batted fifth. Tony Cruz got the start
behind the plate and batted ninth. ... Twins DH/1B Kennys Vargas hit
eighth in the order on Thursday. It's the lowest Vargas has batted
in his career. ... The Cardinals return to National League play on
Friday when they open a three-game series against the Philadelphia
Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. ... The Twins continue their
interleague schedule on Friday when they open a three-game series
with the Chicago Cubs at Target Field.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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