CHICAGO — The sausage fest continues.
After being no-hit for four innings Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins rallied with their celebratory summer sausage in tow, scoring six late runs and extending the team’s longest winning streak in 16 years to nine games.
Held scoreless into the fifth inning, the Twins rallied from two deficits and scored twice in the eighth and once more in the ninth to top the Chicago White Sox 6-5 at Guaranteed Rate Field and increase their longest stretch without a loss since 2008.
Max Kepler drove in the game-winning run for a second night in a row, Carlos Correa notched a score-tying single, his first big hit since coming off the injured list, and Jhoan Duran earned the save in his first appearance of the season after being activated off the IL earlier Tuesday.
Five players drove in runs for the Twins, who improved to 16-13 and will send Bailey Ober to the mound in search of a series sweep and the team’s 10th straight win Wednesday afternoon.
“Every night, guys are showing up, playing hard,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Some days it’s been really pretty. Some days it’s been a lot of work. (Tuesday) was definitely one of those days where it was a lot of work, but no one’s shying away. … Everyone is motivated. We feel like we’re in every game and we have an opportunity to do really anything at any point.”
Tuesday’s victory required plenty of additional effort.
The Twins rebounded from an early deficit after rookie starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson struggled and then again when rookie reliever Kody Funderburk surrendered a two-run homer in the fifth inning. However, neither deficit proved insurmountable for the Twins and their trusted Cloverdale summer sausage.
TWWWWWWWWWINS WIN ‼
9️⃣ in a row for the #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/P1mERXmVFx
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) May 1, 2024
The Twins bounced back from a 2-0 hole in the fifth inning on an RBI triple from Willi Castro and an RBI double by Kyle Farmer. Down by two again, the Twins scored a run in the sixth on a double steal as Ryan Jeffers cruised home from third base after the White Sox attempted unsuccessfully to cut down Kepler stealing second base.
After grounding out and striking out earlier with runners in scoring position, Correa, who came off the IL on Monday, tied the contest at 4 in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI single, taking second on the throw home. Trevor Larnach, who broke up Chicago starter Michael Soroka’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the fifth and scored during that rally, singled to right field to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.
But the advantage was only short-lived as reliever Cole Sands surrendered a score-tying homer to Andrew Benintendi in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Still, the Twins were able to shake it off quickly.
Byron Buxton walked to start the ninth inning and raced to third on Manuel Margot’s one-out single. Kepler, who singled in Buxton in the ninth inning of Monday’s one-run win, followed with a sacrifice fly.
“Luckily, the offense is amazing right now,” Woods Richardson said. “You can’t give any more props to the guys who want to win the baseball game and have our backs.”
Since returning from the IL on April 22, Kepler is batting .417/.481/.625 with nine RBIs. Before going on the IL with a right knee contusion, Kepler started the season 1-for-20.
“It’s tough to just forget about it, and just I mean really forget about it,” Baldelli said. “Not like fake forget about it where you say it and you know it’s still on your mind. He’s just kind of put it aside like it didn’t even exist. … He’s just making things happen.”
So did Duran, who was tasked with preserving the team’s winning streak on his first day back. Baldelli hoped he didn’t need to use Duran in a tight situation after activating him off the IL earlier Tuesday. The short start by Woods Richardson, who yielded two runs (one earned) and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings, changed Baldelli’s plans.
With the top of Chicago’s lineup due, Duran took over and immediately surrendered a leadoff single to Tommy Pham. But Duran shook it off, getting a pair of fielder’s choice grounders before striking out Andrew Vaughn to give the Twins their longest winning streak since June 17-27, 2008.
Another win means one more day for the team’s rally summer sausage, which hasn’t been refrigerated in the six days since the Twins brought it into the dugout last Thursday when they trailed Soroka and the White Sox 2-0.
“As long as we change it and as long as we keep it safe, I think we’ll be all right,” Woods Richardson said.
FARMER TIES THE GAME #MNTwins | #MLB pic.twitter.com/Tay5dHDg0p
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) May 1, 2024
For as long as he’s played the game, veteran Carlos Santana doesn’t find the rally sausage strange, either. But he and Twins infielders added another layer to their celebration Tuesday as they gathered for a group picture with catcher Christian Vázquez near the pitcher’s mound similar to how NFL defenses congregate in the end zone after big defensive plays. Duran tried to join the photo but was told it was a defenders only shot.
“It’s part of the game,” Santana said. “It’s part of the season. When you have great teams that play hard every day, we have to do something. So Jeffers, all the players, they’re doing that with the salami. So I think it’s funny. It’s funny. It’s fun. We have to keep it up. Everything is positive. We have to play great baseball for nine innings straight. Everything is accepted.”
(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
