Pinch hitting in the top of the 9th, Joe Mauer slapped a double to the left-center field gap, scoring two runs and Joe Nathan held on for his 8th save as the Twins came from behind to beat Texas 9-8.
Minnesota needed a strong performance from starter Carl Pavano, as the Twins bullpen is running on fumes. Although the ’stache was staked to a 3 run lead in the top of the second, Texas answered with two in the bottom half of the frame, and added five more in the fourth inning, and one in the fifth before Pavano left the game. His line for the night: 5 innings, 9 hits, 8 runs (all earned), 2 walks and a strikeout.
But give the Twins bullpen credit—on Monday, they couldn’t get anyone out, but tonight, they pitched 4 innings of shutout baseball, with reliever Joe Nathan pitching the ninth. Although Nathan allowed two runners to reach base, he struck out David Murphy swinging to clinch the victory.
In the win, Ben Revere, Delmon Young, and Michael Cuddyer each had two hits to lead a 13 hit attack for the Twins.