When Twins manager Rocco Baldelli released his reshuffled lineup card for the series finale against the Pirates Sunday afternoon, there was one change that stood out the most.
Carlos Santana, the 38-year-old first baseman, was penciled into the leadoff spot for the first time this season. The skipper was moving things around in an attempt to ignite a dormant lineup that had gone 22 consecutive innings without scoring a run.
And while the changes may have taken until the 10th inning to impact the game, they were ultimately instrumental in Minnesota breaking its five-game losing streak and salvaging the final contest of a three-game road series against Pittsburgh at PNC Park. After getting shut out in consecutive games and for the fourth and fifth times this season, the Twins used a seven-run 10th inning to earn an 11-5 victory.
Leading off the top of the 10th inning with the automatic runner at second and the score knotted at 4, left fielder Manuel Margot got a hold of a Ben Heller cutter, driving it into the right-center-field gap for an RBI triple. Byron Buxton was drilled in the back on the following pitch, then stole second, and Ryan Jeffers worked a 10-pitch walk to load the bases for Willi Castro, who was hit by a pitch to bring home an insurance run.
Then the dominoes began to fall. Santana drove home a pair with a double, and Carlos Correa hit an RBI single before scoring on a Max Kepler base hit.
It was an inning that perfectly epitomized baseball. In the blink of an eye, the team that was unable to plate a single run in the previous two games led by seven.
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