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Alex Kirilloff has played in four games since being called up from Class AAA St. Paul. He has not been around long enough to be infected with the same hitting ailment that has overwhelmed the team.
Kirilloff has had competitive at-bats throughout the first two games of the Twins series against San Diego, including his walk-off single in the 11th inning on Wednesday to lift the Twins to a 4-3 victory.
Kirilloff reached base four times in five plate appearances Tuesday, with two hits, a walk and a fielder’s choice. His game-winner sets up a rubber game on Thursday as the teams wrap up a three-game series.
San Diego took a 3-2 lead in the 10th by executing a suicide squeeze that scored Rougned Odor. The Twins got a leadoff single by pinch hitter Donovan Solano that scored Willi Castro with the tying run. Solano moved to second on a wild pitch by the Padres’ Josh Hader.
Their attempt at execution killed them, however, as Christian Vázquez missed two bunt attempts before striking out. Hader, one of the league’s filthiest lefthanders, then got out of the inning by striking out Nick Gordon and Max Kepler.
Griffin Jax pitched the top of the 11th, striking out Matt Carpenter with the bases loaded to end the inning. He pumped his fist as the announced crowd of 18,467 released the loudest cheer of the night — before Kirilloff batted in the bottom of the inning.
Maybe Kirilloff can rub off on the rest of the team.
Kepler provided a jolt to the struggling Twins offense with a first-inning home run to right field. Kepler entered the game batting .213 but was 3-for-5 with his sixth homer on Wednesday.
The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the third on back-to-back doubles by Kepler and Carlos Correa, with Correa’s blast to center inches short of clearing the fence. Alex Kirilloff followed with a single to right. Correa was waved home but was tagged out inches before sliding across home plate.
Now, it was a matter of trying to make the score hold up.
Pablo López navigated San Diego’s imposing-but-underperforming lineup for six innings before giving up a home run to Juan Soto to lead off the seventh. Lopez went 6⅓ innings, giving up the one run on two hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. On most nights, that is enough. On Wednesday, it meant the Twins held a 2-1 lead going into the eighth inning.
Jorge López took over in the eighth and loaded the bases with one out before Manny Machado lofted a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Trent Grisham to score the tying run.
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