The Minnesota Twins couldn't quite pull off the sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. They lost, 4-3, in extra innings thanks to a Shin-Soo Choo double to start the bottom of the 10th inning. Anthony Swarzak started the tenth and immediately gave up a double to Choo. Jason Kipnis then ground out to first, which advanced Choo to third. Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley were then intentionally walked, and Casey Kotchman came through with a single to centerfield that scored Choo and ended the game.
That was Choo's only at-bat of the game as he was held out of the lineup. He was pinch hitting for Vinny Rottino, who had four at-bats and didn't manage to reach base once. Kotchman had already had two hits on the day and an RBI prior to his game-clinching single.
Swarzak was given the loss, while Esmil Rogers picked up the win for the Indians. Nobody had a miraculous day for the Twins, as Trevor Plouffe did the best, with two hits and an RBI. Minnesota has now dropped six of their last nine games, but they're firmly out of the playoff race at this point anyway. Up next, they've got a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
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