Ty France's RBI single capped a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday night that helped the San Diego Padres rally for a 7-5 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins.
The rally started with the Padres down 5-2 when Freddy Fermin reached by catcher's interference on Ryan Jeffers. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled Fermin to second and both scored when Jake Cronenworth sliced a double to the left field corner.
Manny Machado's grounder to shortstop Kaelen Culpepper turned into the tying run
when third baseman Brooks Lee failed to catch an accurate throw as Cronenworth tried to advance. That enabled Cronenworth to score the tying run as Machado reached second on the fielder's choice.
France then touched Andrew Morris (4-5) for a looping liner into right that plated Machado with the go-ahead run. Tatis tacked on an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI single that scored Luis Campusano.
Griffin Canning (4-9) pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the win and Mason Miller locked down the ninth for his 32nd save in 33 chances. Starter Casey Mize lasted only 2 2/3 innings before leaving with a right ankle injury. He allowed four hits and four runs, walking one and striking out none.
Minnesota starter Dean Kremer lasted 5 1/3 innings, permitting three hits and two runs while walking three and striking out five.
The Twins scored in each of the first four innings, taking advantage of poorly located pitches by Mize to belt three solo homers in the first two innings.
Luke Keaschall cracked a leadoff blast to left on a hanging breaking ball on the fourth pitch of the game for his eighth homer. An inning later, Lee and Culpepper went back-to-back with two outs. It was Lee's 19th homer and Culpepper's second.
Jackson Merrill got San Diego on the board in the bottom of the second with his 20th homer, but Minnesota made it 4-1 in the third via Kody Clemens' two-out RBI single that scored Jeffers, whose double ended Mize's night.
Keaschall singled home Lee with two outs in the fourth for a 5-1 lead. Merrill made it 5-2 in the sixth with an RBI single that scored Cronenworth.
The result put the Padres two games ahead of Arizona for the National League's third and final wild-card spot. The Twins stayed a game behind Texas and Cleveland for the American League's final wild-card berth.
--Field Level Media
