MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Matt Olson drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice, Travis d’Arnaud added an RBI single and Ramón Laureano put the game away with a two-run double as the Atlanta Braves scored four times in the 10th inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 8-6 on Tuesday night.
Olson’s grounder to second scored the automatic runner as second baseman Edouard Julien’s throw home wasn’t in time. D’Arnaud and Laureano followed with one-out hits as Atlanta rallied against Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran (6-8).
Duran allowed four runs — three earned — and four hits.
“I’m pretty sure sometime you’re going to have a day like that,” Duran said. "So, it’s not like every day you throw good, you know?”
The Braves, who led 4-0 before the Twins rallied late, won for the eighth time in 10 games. They trail Philadelphia by 6 games in the National League East and hold the final wild-card spot in the NL by 3 1/2 games over the New York Mets.
“That's a good win," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It was going to be a costly loss, quite honestly. Now, it's a good win.”
Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias (4-1) blew a save after allowing Trevor Larnach's game-tying RBI double to score an inherited runner with two outs in the eighth. Pierce Johnson allowed two runs in the 10th but struck out Matt Wallner with the tying run at first to end it.
Michael Harris, who was hit on the hand by a pitch on Sunday, returned to the starting lineup for the Braves and homered in the second. Marcell Ozuna added two hits, including a two-run double in the fifth. Ozuna now has 98 RBIs, third in the majors behind New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (122) and Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez (104).
“We always play the game like a playoff,” said Ozuna. “We always build and prepare for what's next coming up.”
Larnach and Julien had RBI doubles and Wallner added an RBI single in Minnesota's three-run seventh. Larnach had three hits and drove in three runs.
The Twins have lost seven of nine and trail Cleveland and Kansas City by 2 1/2 games in the AL Central. They control the final wild-card spot in the AL by four games over Boston.
“Whether it’s just simply not executing or a little sloppy baseball here or there, whatever it might be, it’s really hard when these games are as valuable as they are,” Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “You play clean ball the whole year. For the most part, we’ve been really good when we’re in those situations, when we play super-sound fundamental baseball for most of the whole year. So, it’s really frustrating to have all that happen to us when the games are as important as they are.”
Atlanta's Spencer Schwellenbach started against Minnesota's Simeon Woods Richardson, which marked the most combined letters in the last names of a starting pitching matchup in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 28 letters surpasses 25, which was done four times.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (right shoulder strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list as the team made a series of pitching moves. The transfer means Ryan won’t pitch again in the regular season. He’s been out since Aug. 7.
UP NEXT
LHP Chris Sale (14-3, 2.62 ERA) will start Wednesday evening’s series finale for Atlanta, while Minnesota counters with rookie RHP David Festa (2-3, 5.20).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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