Mike Yastrzemski hit a triple and scored in the ninth inning, thanks to a throwing error by Minnesota’s third baseman Diego Castillo. This helped the San Francisco Giants edge out the Twins 3-2 on Sunday.
After San Francisco’s closer Camilo Doval let a lead slip in the top of the ninth, Yastrzemski hit a 2-1 pitch from Jhoan Duran into the gap in right-center field. Twins’ center fielder Manuel Margot slipped while chasing the ball, allowing Yastrzemski to advance to third base.
The ball was relayed to third baseman Brooks Lee, but Castillo couldn’t handle the throw, leading to cheers from the Oracle Park crowd.
“It wasn’t how we planned, but winning matters more than how it happens,” Yastrzemski said after the Giants’ ninth walk-off win of the season. “We’re a team that works hard together and plays unselfishly. Today’s game shows that.”
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli blamed his team’s mistakes in the ninth inning for the loss.
“Things can change quickly in baseball, and that’s what happened today,” Baldelli said. “A solid hit to right-center field and we didn’t execute basic plays like cutting off throws or having backup.”
Ryan Walker (6-3) retired two batters to earn the win for San Francisco.
The Giants secured their walk-off win on a day when Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, had his best performance of the season.
Snell retired the first 18 batters he faced in a row before Margot broke the streak with a hit in the seventh inning. He struck out eight batters and didn’t issue any walks, marking his cleanest game of the year.
It was Snell’s strongest outing yet since joining the Giants on a $62 million, two-year contract in the offseason.
