Sonny Gray, generous strike call lead Twins to series win over Phillies
The Minnesota Twins got a strong outing from Sonny Gray and a little help from behind the plate as they scored a 3-0 win to seal a series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
Gray was in his All-Star form in the series finale, holding the Phillies to just two hits on three walks with seven strikeouts over six innings.
The performance was backed by some rare run support as Jordan Luplow hit a solo home run off Phillies starter Ranger Suarez to put the Twins on the board in the top of the first inning.
Jorge Polanco added to the lead with an RBI single in the third inning and the 2-0 advantage held up until Griffin Jax relieved Gray in the top of the seventh inning.
After Philadelphia loaded the bases with one out, Caleb Thielbar came into the game and got Kyle Schwarber to pop out for the second out of the inning. With a full count to Alec Bohm in the following at-bat, Thielbar got a generous call from home plate umpire Alex McKay for strike three to end the inning.
The wide strike zone was a theme over the final three innings as McKay called Bryce Harper out on a fastball on the corner in the eighth inning which led to the ejection of Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson.
After Thielbar threw an inning of relief, Emilio Pagán came in for the final two outs of the eighth inning and Johan Duran closed the game in the ninth to help the Twins come away with the win.
Donovan Solano went 3-for-5 in his return to the lineup after missing the past two games with a lower-body injury and Polanco went 2-for-5 while Christian Vázquez went 2-for-3 in the victory.
The Twins improved to 62-58 on the season and maintained their 4.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. After an off day on Monday, Bailey Ober (6-6, 3.40 ERA) will take the mound against Alex Faedo (2-4, 5.80 ERA) when the Twins open a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
