Minnesota Twins beat Cincinnati Reds 4-3 to win series – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins finally managed to find winning ways as the rallied past the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on Sunday, June 24 in the third and final game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Shortstop Wilson Valdez provided the Reds with an excellent start as he singled to right in the third inning to put his side 1-0 ahead. Trevor Plouffe responded for the Twins with his fifteenth home run of the season to level score at 1-1 in the fifth.
However, the star of the show was Josh Willingham, who homered to left in the bottom of the ninth to help the Twins comeback from behind to snatch a memorable victory.
"It was fun to watch Joe's at-bat. It set the tone for the inning," Willingham said. "I was looking for something over the middle hard and the pitch was over the middle and it was hard. I tried to stay short with my swing. You don't swing early but just try to make it shorter."
Starting pitcher Scott Diamond secured his sixth win of the season, giving up just three runs and eight hits in eight solid innings for Minnesota Twins.
"If you need a fastball hitter in those situations, Josh is the guy," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Mauer's a great hitter. He can do things that others can't against a pitcher who throws above the speed limit."
Manager Ron Gardenhire will be delighted with what he has seen from the Twins over the last few days. The Twins handled the pressure brilliantly in series opener to secure a narrow 5-4 win.
Although they were shutout in the following game, the Twins ended the series on a positive note, edging the Reds in the finale to earn a much needed series victory.
Right now, the Twins are sitting at the bottom of the American League East Division standings with 29-42 record and it will be practically impossible for them to reach the playoffs from their current position. However, they can certainly build on confidence by winning games on regular basis.
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