A throwing error by second baseman Brooks Lee turned Mike Yastrzemski’s ninth-inning triple into the San Francisco Giants’ 3-2 walk-off win over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon.
In the final game of the first half for both teams, the Giants took a 2-0 lead into the ninth on the strength of Blake Snell’s seven innings of one-hit ball and early RBI singles by Thairo Estrada and Patrick Bailey.
But Giants closer Camilo Doval served up a two-run double to Manuel Margot with one out in the ninth, tying the score.
Yastrzemski launched closer Jhoan Duran’s fourth pitch just past the glove of a diving Margot in right-center field. Right fielder Max Kepler retrieved the ball and hit his cutoff man, but Lee’s late throw to third sailed wide of the target and into the Giants’ dugout, ending the game.
Ryan Walker (6-3), who rescued Doval in the top of the ninth, was credited with the win in the Giants’ ninth walk-off win of the season, tied for best in the majors. Duran (5-4) took the loss.
Pitching for just the second time since his second stint on the injury list this season, Snell retired the first 18 batters he faced before Margot singled to left field leading off the seventh.
Snell got the next batter, Willi Castro, to ground into a double play, and when he struck out Lee, he finished seven innings having faced the minimum 21 batters.
He had no walks and eight strikeouts in his longest — by a full two innings — of eight starts this season.
The Giants gave the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner a lead in the second inning when Estrada came through with a two-out RBI single off Twins starter Chris Paddack.
The margin doubled in the next inning when LaMonte Wade Jr. smacked a ground-rule double and came home on Bailey’s two-out hit.
Paddack worked five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out six.
Yastrzemski finished with a single, double, triple and walk on a 3-for-3 day for the Giants, who completed a 3-3 homestand. Wade had a double and a single.
Margot had two of Minnesota’s three hits as the Twins wrapped up a 3-3 trip.
–Field Level Media
