MINNEAPOLIS – As recently as three weeks ago, it would have been hard to imagine the Twins mustering a comeback win like the one they managed Saturday. These days, it’s almost harder to imagine they won’t find a way to win.
Brooks Lee was the latest hero for the surging Twins, breaking out of a recent slump with a three-hit game. He capped it with a two-out, game-ending RBI single as Minnesota beat the Royals, 5-4, at Target Field on Saturday. It was the Twins’ fifth walk-off win of the season, second straight, and fourth in their last five home games.
Lee entered the game on a 3-for-26 slide. But manager Rocco Baldelli gave him the start at shortstop in place of the resting Carlos Correa, and inserted him in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. And as just about everyone in a key spot for the Twins has done lately, Lee delivered.
“Just trying to make sure that I got my pitch,” Lee said. “Runners on second and third doesn’t mean anything. I just tried to get something out over the plate, stick with my approach and hopefully good things happen. And it did. I mishit that ball, too. But I think with a good approach and a good swing, it took care of itself.”
Lee has contributed in multiple ways to the team’s surge, including holding down shortstop while Correa was on the 7-day concussion injured list. There is no hesitation to put him anywhere in the infield, anywhere in the batting order.
“I think you can throw things at him and he can handle them,” Baldelli said. “I’m into challenging players, and I think they respond and they grow and get better and turn into even better versions of themselves. A lot of them become great players. That’s how you take good players and help them become better than that. And he’s got really good ability.”
Three weeks ago Saturday, Minnesota began the day at 13-20, trying to put an end to a four-game losing streak, and in fourth place in the American League Central. Since then, the Twins have gone 16-2, roaring into second and to the top of the Wild Card standings.
On Saturday they did it after falling into a 4-0 hole, undaunted by the deficit against cagey Michael Wacha.
“We’re in every game,” said Lee. “We’re down 4-0 early and it doesn’t feel like it. Our offense is going to start clicking at some point during the game and we’re going to put up big numbers.”
Pinch-hitter Correa led off the ninth with a walk, and two batters later, Ryan Jeffers followed with a pinch-hit walk of his own. Ty France’s grounder advanced both runners, and Lee slapped a roller up the middle for his third hit of the day -- securing his first career walk-off hit.
The ninth-inning rally completed a big comeback for the Twins, who trailed 4-0 in the top of the fifth inning. But a Harrison Bader homer and a two-run single by France in the bottom of the frame made it a one-run game, and Kody Clemens tied it with a homer in the sixth.
Jhoan Duran escaped a two-on, nobody-out jam in the top of the ninth to keep the game tied, and Lee came up with the game-ender.
For Lee, it was the second time in recent weeks that he has shaken off struggles to turn in a big game. He went 3-for-5 with a key home run in a May 11 win over San Francisco, pushing away what had been a 3-for-19 slump entering the contest.
The Twins continue to show confidence in the second-year player, and even if he sometimes struggles, he’s shown an ability to put that aside and deliver in big moments.
“Feels really good,” Lee said “It’s a rollercoaster, that’s all I can say. I’m young, so I’m trying to do a good job of [bouncing back], and I felt like I haven’t, but today was a little bit different. I just tried to remind myself, when I was 0-for-2, tried to remind myself that I’ve got a couple more at-bats, and I got three straight hits.”