One of us clears all the bases: Wallner’s slam guides Twins over Tigers
All the Twins needed from Matt Wallner in the sixth inning Tuesday was a ball in play. He stood in the batter's box with the bases loaded, no outs and his team trailing by a run.
Wallner, the rookie outfielder from Forest Lake, did a lot more than that.
He earned his first curtain call from the Target Field crowd after he pummeled a fastball to the second deck in right-center field. It was his first career grand slam, and the majestic 450-foot blast carried the Twins to a 5-3 victory over the Tigers.
Wallner earned the homer in a seven-pitch at-bat. He fouled a fastball on the outside corner and a slider at the bottom of the strike zone before Tigers reliever Will Vest left a belt-high fastball over the heart of the plate. There was that unmistakable sound of a no-doubt homer, the loud crack, and Wallner knew it immediately.
The Twins had only three baserunners in the first five innings against Tigers starter Alex Faedo, a cousin of former Twins shortstop Lenny Faedo. Once the Tigers turned to their bullpen, they had five straight batters reach base.
Jorge Polanco started the sixth-inning rally with a leadoff walk, and Max Kepler singled in an eight-pitch at-bat after a foul pop-up dropped between catcher Eric Haase and third baseman Matt Vierling in a miscommunication. Royce Lewis, activated from the injured list Tuesday, gave the Twins their first run when he lined an RBI single to left field off reliever José Cisnero.
Vest replaced Cisnero after Lewis' hit, and Carlos Correa reached on a slow roller to the second baseman. That loaded the bases and brought up Wallner, who was tasked with lowering his strikeout rate this year. After Wallner hammered the fifth fastball he saw in his seven-pitch at-bat, the crowd of 30,150 screamed for a curtain call. Wallner, sporting the Twins' home run fishing vest, was alerted to it by his teammates and waved from the top step of the dugout.
Wallner, who hit a walk-off homer in his last game at Target Field, has nine home runs in 38 games this season.
It was a fast-and-furious rally for a Twins offense that has struggled against Tigers pitching all year. They had one hit vs. Faedo, a pitcher they scored three runs against last week, and only one baserunner who touched second base.
Before Miguel Cabrera began his last series in Minnesota, the Twins presented the future Hall of Famer with a series of gifts to commemorate his 21-year career.
Glen Perkins carried a $5,000 check to donate to the Miggy Foundation. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau followed with a fishing pole, a tackle box and a No. 24 bucket hat. Fellow Venezuelans Pablo López and assistant hitting coach Rudy Hernandez walked out with a customized silver hockey stick that had some of Cabrera's career accomplishments engraved on it.
Then Twins pitcher Bailey Ober gave Cabrera one more gift in the second inning: A down-the-middle fastball. Cabrera blasted his second home run of the season to the second deck in left field, a two-run shot. It was Cabrera's 509th career homer, tying him for 26th in MLB history with Gary Sheffield.
Ober walked three batters, matching his season high, but only one of them scored. He gave up four hits and two runs while striking out six. He pitched around a leadoff single in the first inning with two strikeouts and Ryan Jeffers threw out a runner.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the fourth inning after two hits, which included an infield single, and a walk, but Ober ended the threat with a strikeout. The Tigers totaled only one more hit until Jhoan Duran surrendered a solo homer in the ninth inning.
