MINNEAPOLIS — Kurt Suzuki hit the winning RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning after two wild pitches by Seattle closer Carson Smith let Minnesota tie the score, and the Twins beat the Mariners 3-2 on Saturday night.
Miguel Sano led off the ninth with a double, moved up on an errant fastball by Smith (1-5) that nearly hit Torii Hunter in the head. Then with two outs, pinch-runner Shane Robinson sprinted home with the tying run on another wild pitch that let Eddie Rosario take second.
Rosario, who was intentionally walked, stole third base and then scored on Suzuki’s sharp single to left field that finished another frustrating night for the Twins at the plate on a celebratory note.
Trevor May (7-7) pitched a perfect ninth inning for the victory.
Nelson Cruz led off the sixth with his 28th home run, a full-count pitch from Kyle Gibson off the back wall of the bullpen behind left-center field and gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead. The drive was estimated by the Twins at 436 feet.
Mike Montgomery, whose performance the last two months since being summoned from Triple-A Tacoma has been one of the bright spots in a rather dim season for the Mariners, was on track for the win after hitless relief innings by Tom Wilhelmsen and Fernando Rodney.
The Twins loaded the bases on three singles in the third inning, but Joe Mauer grounded into a double play to end that threat. Trevor Plouffe, returning from a three-game absence for the birth of his son, Theodore, scored on a wild pitch in the fourth after a triple.
Gibson bounced back for the Twins from a couple of rough starts out of the All-Star break, but Cruz did enough damage by himself to keep the right-hander from leaving with the lead. Cruz’s ground-rule double in the first inning set up Robinson Cano’s RBI groundout.
Mariners prospect Ketel Marte, called up this weekend after a roster shakeup that sent three key players away in separate trades, picked up his first major league hit on an infield single.
CRUZ-ING
Cruz stretched his hitting streak to 12 straight games, his longest since May 2014. He’s batting .407 during that stretch with seven home runs. His 27 homers through the end of July were the 10th-most in Mariners history at that mark and the most since Bret Boone’s 28 in 2003.
REUNITED
The start of the game was delayed by 25 minutes to accommodate the on-field ceremony in honor of Minnesota’s 1965 American League championship. More than 20 players from that team, along with dozens of family members, were present for the 50th anniversary celebration including the primary starting rotation: Jim Kaat, Jim Grant, Camilo Pascual and Jim Perry.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: Cano returned as the DH from a three-game absence due to a strained abdominal muscle. Manager Lloyd McClendon said Cano will be back at 2B next week sometime during the series at Colorado. … 1B Logan Morrison was out again with a bruised left thumb, and McClendon said Jesus Montero will cut into his playing time down the stretch as the team takes a longer look at the 25-year-old.
Twins: CF Byron Buxton will travel Sunday to Fort Myers, Florida, for further rehab work on his sprained left thumb before getting in some minor league games. “There’s a slight anticipation that things are moving a little more quickly than they might’ve originally been scheduled,” manager Paul Molitor said.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (2-2, 5.10 ERA) will make his ninth start of the season in the series finale Sunday. He’s coming off his worst performance of his injury-limited year, with 10 hits and six runs allowed Tuesday against Arizona.
Twins: Mike Pelfrey (5-7, 3.92 ERA) will take the mound, seeking his first win since throwing eight scoreless innings June 7 against Milwaukee. He’s 0-5 in his last eight turns.
