|
Mauer, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 MLB
Draft from nearby Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul,
went 1-for-4 -- a signature line-drive double to the gap in
left-center in the seventh inning on a 3-2 pitch off reliever
Juan Minaya -- in his 1,858th game in 15 seasons with the Twins.
It was the 2,123rd career hit and club record 428th career
double for the three-time AL batting champion.
The 35-year-old Mauer, who said he will decide in a couple weeks
whether he will retire or play again after finishing up an
eight-year, $184-million contract, received a standing ovation
that lasted over one minute from the Target Field crowd of
30,144 when he led off the bottom of the first inning and was
greeted at first base by five-year-old twin daughters Emily and
Maren to start the game.
The only catcher to win an AL batting title also made a surprise
appearance behind the plate for one pitch to start the ninth
before leaving the game to another standing ovation.
Logan Forsythe singled and drove in two runs for Minnesota
(78-84) with finished with a season-best six-game winning streak
and in second place in the AL Central. Andrew Vasquez (1-0)
struck out the side in a scoreless fifth to pick his first major
league victory and Trevor May, who struck out two of three
batters he faced, picked up his third save.
Daniel Palka doubled and had two hits for Chicago (62-100) which
finished fourth in the AL Central and finished with 100 losses
for fourth time in franchise history. Dylan Covey (5-14) gave up
five runs on six hits and two walks in six innings to take the
loss.
After Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by
Avisail Garcia and a sacrifice fly by Matt Davidson, the Twins
bounced back to take a 5-2 lead on a 420-foot solo homer to
center by Cave and a two-out, two-run single by Forsythe in the
fourth.
Kepler followed with his 20th homer of the season, a towering
409-foot two-run blast into the plaza behind the bleachers in
right in the sixth for what proved to be the game winner.
--Field Level Media
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
