Rosario’s pinch-hit homer sparks Twins’ win over Rays

Pinch-hitting for just the second time this season, Rosario did as he did last time, drilling a two-run home run in what ended up to be an easy 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field.

Archer was in control from the start, limiting the Twins to two hits and no runs in the first five innings.

Minnesota (44-65) has won four of five games and seven of its last nine, while the Rays (44-64) had won six of their previous eight.

The Twins, who started the season 11-34, would move out of the AL basement with a sweep of the weekend series.

Miguel Sano homered and had three hits for the Twins, who have won seven of nine. Brad Miller’s RBI single brought him in to open the scoring, though Twins starter Kyle Gibson was able to pick off Miller at first to end the inning.Rays starter Matt Andriese got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the first inning, starting with Sano’s high pop-up, but he wasn’t as lucky in the third. Casali, who hit.238 with 10 home runs in 101 at-bats past year for the Rays, wasn’t the same hitter this season, batting.168 with seven home runs in 185 at-bats. “By doing that, I should have been more consistent with my pitches and competitive in the zone”.

Alex Colome got the final two outs for his 27th save after the Twins rallied for two runs in the ninth. The blasts were estimated at 425- and 419-feet, respectively. “It’s fun to watch him play the game”. “I wasn’t too sure exactly where it went but Longo kept his eye on it, so that’s cool”. On Friday, the Twins bagged a healthy 6-2 win.

“It’s fun to get on a roll and find a way to win some games”, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said.

Longoria and Wilson homered off Minnesota starter Jose Berrios (2-2), who gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. Brandon Kintzler, the Twins’ fourth reliever, pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Longoria’s 24th home run gave the Rays a 2-0 lead in the third. Longoria is on pace to finish with 36 homers. Tampa Bay hits the road for a six-game swing in Toronto and NY, and the Twins return home for seven games against the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals.

Not only did Brad Miller extend his hitting streak to five games with a RBI single in the first inning that put the Rays on the board, but he also added a pair of stolen bases, his second such multi-steal game of the year after entering this season with just one since breaking into the majors back in 2013.

Kepler had two hits and also made a diving catch in right field during the seventh to take a hit away from Logan Forsythe.

When a reporter suggested it was “crazy” that it took until August for a winning homestand, manager Kevin Cash said: “I can think of better words than insane”. “But the way he played the game, PED or not, he was extremely talented and so hopefully we can send him off with a thank you for a great career”.

“Ervin continues his good trend”, Molitor said. The Twins expect to activate Plouffe as early as Monday. Continuing to tweak the roster since the All-Star break, the Rays claimed C Bobby Wilson off waivers from the Rangers and optioned C Curt Casali to Triple-A Durham. 1B Logan Morrison (strained right forearm) and OF Oswaldo Arcia (strained right elbow) will work out Monday with Class A Charlotte.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (6-5) will take a stretch of three consecutive scoreless stars (20 2/3 innings) into his outing Monday night against Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (8-12).