Inside The Twins

Ty France walks it off against Mets in extras as Twins win series

The Twins have won two games in a row for just the second time this season.
Will Ragatz|
Harrison Bader and Brooks Lee celebrate with Ty France after France's walkoff hit to beat the Mets on Wednesday.
Harrison Bader and Brooks Lee celebrate with Ty France after France's walkoff hit to beat the Mets on Wednesday. | Twins.TV

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Minnesota Twins

For the first time this season, the Twins have won a series against a team other than the Chicago White Sox. Ty France drove in Byron Buxton with a walk-off single in the tenth inning on Wednesday afternoon, clinching a 4-3 win over the Mets in a dramatic rubber match at Target Field.

France was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts when he came up to the plate to start the bottom of the tenth and laced a Reed Garrett breaking ball to center field. Buxton, the automatic runner at second base, scored with ease due to a Tyrone Taylor misplay, setting off a celebration after the Twins' second victory in the last 18 hours.

Cole Sands set up the heroics by pitching around the ghost runner for a scoreless top of the tenth. With two on and no outs, he got Jesse Winker to bounce into a double play and then retired Brandon Nimmo on a pop-up near third base.

This one was more difficult than it needed to be for the Twins (7-12). Griffin Jax came into the eighth inning with Minnesota holding a 3-0 lead. Four hits later, the Mets (11-7) had tied the game. Francisco Lindor singled, Pete Alonso and Winker hit RBI doubles, and Luisangel Acuña tied the game on an infield single to shortstop. Fortunately for the Twins, Harrison Bader — who had an excellent game at the plate and in the field — kept the score tied with a diving catch to end the inning.

It's been a shocking start to the season for Jax, who has already had three ugly outings. He blew a two-run lead in the ninth against the Astros earlier this month, then committed a throwing error that led to the decisive run against the Royals two days later. He has a 7.04 ERA through eight appearances this season. Last year, Jax was one of the most valuable relievers in baseball, posting a 2.03 ERA and 2.8 WAR across 72 games.

Jhoan Duran kept the game tied in the top of the ninth, striking out Juan Soto after issuing a two-out walk to Francisco Lindor. Soto was 0 for 5 with three strikeouts on the day.

Bader opened the scoring in the fifth inning with a base hit to left field that drove in Willi Castro, whose hustle double to open the frame was upheld after a Mets challenge. Buxton then came up with a clutch two-out hit to drive in Bader and double the lead.

Twins right-hander David Festa couldn't quite make it through the fifth inning, but he was impressive in his second start of the season while filling in for the injured Pablo Lopez. He went 4.1 scoreless frames, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out six. Utilizing his slider and changeup to complement his fastball, he generated nine swings and misses, one of which was a half-hearted swing from Soto on a filthy slider in the first inning. Festa froze Acuña with a fastball at 97 to strand a pair in the fourth.

He also got some help from his defense. Bader gunned down Winker at the plate from left field to keep the game scoreless in the second inning, and Buxton made a couple running catches deep in the left-center gap.

A key moment in the middle of the game came when Festa departed with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fifth. Danny Coulombe entered to face Soto, and got him to bounce one to Edouard Julien for an unassisted double play on the first pitch of the at-bat. That play kept the Mets off the board and kept Festa's ERA at 0.00 after two starts this season. The Twins took their first lead in the bottom half of that frame.

Coulombe went on to make quick work of the Mets in the sixth, finishing his day with five outs recorded on just nine pitches. Louis Varland pitched a strong seventh inning before Jax's implosion in the eighth.

The Twins were gifted a third run in the home half of the sixth inning when first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt incorrectly ruled that Castro beat pitcher Jose Butto to the bag with two outs. Ryan Jeffers was able to race around and score on the play, which the Mets were unable to challenge after an unsuccessful attempt during Castro's previous at-bat. That third run proved to be crucial for the Twins.

Wendelstedt was hit in the head by a foul line drive during the seventh inning. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, holding a towel to his head.

Neither Carlos Correa (wrist) nor Matt Wallner (hamstring) were in the lineup for this game after exiting Tuesday night's win due to injuries. Correa entered Wednesday's game to play shortstop in the ninth inning, but Wallner is headed to the IL, Rocco Baldelli said after the game. Castro exited late in the game with mild oblique tightness, which is why Correa had to come in.

The Twins are off on Thursday before heading to Atlanta for a three-game weekend series against the 5-13 Braves.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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