Rosario's walk-off helps Twins keep WC lead
MINNEAPOLIS -- As Twins manager Paul Molitor has often said, Eddie Rosario lives for big moments. Rosario came up huge for Minnesota, crushing a walk-off, two-run homer to right in the 10th inning to lift the Twins to a 3-1 win over the Padres on Wednesday night at Target Field.
MINNEAPOLIS -- As Twins manager Paul Molitor has often said,
It was the fourth walk-off win of the year for the Twins. Joe Mauer sparked the rally with a one-out single off reliever
"I was waiting for that pitch," said Rosario, who had never hit a walk-off homer at any level. "In the last at-bat, I got a lot of fastballs inside. So I was little surprised he pitched inside, but I was waiting on the pitch and I made good contact. It was awesome. It's the moment every player wants."
Padres rookie right-hander
"I thought he was good, and he's been good pretty much every time out over the last couple months," San Diego manager Andy Green said. "Another step in the right direction. More of the same, good slider and good fastball. [He] navigated the lineup well, minimized damage. I thought, overall, he threw the ball well."
• Lamet stays composed during strong outing
Twins right-hander
Hedges made up for his error with a solo shot off reliever
It came after the Twins blew a prime opportunity to score in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. Left-handed reliever Buddy Baumann got Robbie Grossman to ground into a 6-2-3 double play with the infield in before right-hander
"We're trying to get these guys not to fall into the trap of, 'We're supposed to win these games,'" Molitor said. "It doesn't work that way. Tonight we had to fight with everything we had to get a win."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hedges' throw proves costly: Rosario broke for third on a wild pitch from Lamet in the second inning after a leadoff double and Hedges threw to third to try to get Rosario. But the throw sailed past third baseman
"I think Austin grinds as hard as anyone in the cage. He wants to be really good on both sides of the baseball," Green said. "I think he's doing better at the dish. I think in his mind he wants to be better and better."
Belisle escapes jam: Rookie reliever
"It's just like any other situation," Belisle said. "I'm just trying to execute pitches. Nothing really changes. Just look at the signs and trying to simplify things."
QUOTABLE
"Rosie has been incredible a majority of the season. He got a hitters' count and he swung about as hard as he could and he hit it about as far as he could. It was a great way to end the game and a big win." -- Molitor
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Twins swept the two-game set with the Padres to notch their 10th sweep of the season. That is the most sweeps by Minnesota in a single season since recording 10 in 2006.
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: Following an off-day Thursday, San Diego will travel to Colorado for a three-game weekend set starting on Friday at 5:40 p.m. PT. Left-hander
Twins: The Twins host the Blue Jays for a four-game series that begins Thursday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Right-hander
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.
Rhett Bollinger has covered the Twins for MLB.com since 2011. Follow him on Twitter **@RhettBollinger** and **Facebook**.
Shane Jackson is a reporter for MLB.com based in Minneapolis. He covered the Padres on Wednesday.