Minnesota Twins lose to Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in series finale – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in a thrilling encounter at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, August 12 in the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Rays, who had also prevailed in first two games, completed an emphatic series sweep on Sunday evening to replace second placed Baltimore Orioles on to the top of American League East Divisions standings table. It will be interesting to see if they can come
up with similar results in their next series against the Seattle Mariners to consolidate their position on the standings table.
"Today was a grind," James Shields said in a post game interview. "Our defense wasn't there, but we've had good defense since the (All-Star) break and are playing well."
Credit should be given to the Twins for putting up a brave fight against their superior opponents but the Rays were too competitive to be defeated.
Justin Morneau, in particular, made the most of available opportunities to push the game into the extra inning. Morneau hit a two run home-run in the second and Joe Mauer earned an RBI single to left centre in the third but Minnesota failed to cross the
winning line.
"Everybody has an opinion on where he should have thrown the ball, but I'm going to back my player here," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said of Brian Dozier, who made a critical defensive error. "He did what he thought was right."
"A smart infielder makes sure he gets one out right there," Dozier said after the game. "Every shortstop in the league would've done the same thing."
Twins’ starting pitcher Diamond pitched with great control and accuracy, allowing just three runs in seven solid innings but he was unlucky to end up on the losing side. Relief pitcher Alex Burnett took the loss after giving up two runs in the tenth.
Rays’ reliever Kyle Farnsworth grabbed his first win of the season after he successfully held off the Twins. Closer Fernando Rodney also made a useful contribution for his 36th save of the season.
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