Manuel Margot scored from second base during a five-run seventh inning, and the Minnesota Twins came back to beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Wednesday night.
In the seventh, Christian Vázquez’s sacrifice bunt was thrown wide of first base, allowing Margot to cross home plate. Carlos Correa then hit an RBI double that brought Vázquez in, and Carlos Santana followed up with a three-run double.
This win ended the Twins’ three-game losing streak and marked Miami’s 100th loss of the season, a milestone the Marlins have reached four times in their history.
The Twins are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting two games behind Detroit for the last wild card in the American League, with just four games remaining. Detroit, Kansas City, which holds the second wild card, and Seattle, who trails the Twins by half a game, all won on Wednesday.
The Twins needed to rally after a rough start from rookie Simeon Woods Richardson. Jake Burger hit a three-run homer for the Marlins just three batters into the game, and Miami’s first five hitters reached base in the first inning.
“There’s some tough-mindedness there,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “And the guys stayed at it. It’s not easy when you are down and you’re down early. It is a challenging thing. We almost pretend like it’s not, but it is. It is. But the ability to refocus our attention on what we needed to do was very good.”
Griffin Jax (5-5) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief and got the win for Minnesota. Six relievers from the Twins covered eight innings, allowing five hits and no walks.
Marlins right-hander Declan Cronin allowed the runner he inherited to score in the seventh after Brooks Lee doubled off the right-field wall against Michael Peterson (3-1). Peterson gave up one run in just over one inning, while Cronin allowed four unearned runs.
Woods Richardson finished his first full season in the majors with a record of 5-5 and a 4.17 ERA. He started strong with a 3-1 record and a 3.51 ERA in the first half but had a 5.23 ERA in the second half.
