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Baseball Roundtable is declaring June 18th and 19th to be (semi) officially and in perpetuity Max Kepler Day(s) on this blog site. For those who are either not from Minnesota or not sleep deprived this morning, here’s a brief explanation.
Yesterday (and today, really) the Twins topped the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in a 17-inning contest that took 5 hours and 45 minutes – with an opening pitch at 7:10 p.m. June 18 and a final, game-winning hit at approximately 12:55 a.m. June 19. In between, here’s what Max Kepler did to earn this recognition.
- In the bottom of the eighth, with the Twins trailing 2-1, Kepler hit a game-tying single to right, plating Twins catcher Mitch Garver.
- In the 13th, after a Mookie Betts home run in the top of the inning had put Boston up 3-2, Kepler homered to right-center (again tying the game).
- In the bottom of the 17th, Kepler singled to right, driving in pinch runner Luis Arraez with the winning tally.
Not a bad night/early morning for a player who didn’t even start the game. (Kepler came on as a pinch hitter for Marwin Gonzalez in the sixth.) Kepler ended the night/morning with three hits and a walk in six plate appearance, with one run scored and three RBI.
Red Sox 000 100 100 000 100 00 3 17 0
Twins 000 100 010 000 100 01 4 15 1
A few tidbits:
- It was the longest game (by innings, there is no clock in baseball) ever at Target Field.
- The win enabled the Twins to avoid their first-ever three-game losing streak of this season.
- A total of 39 players appeared in the game.
- Eighteen pitchers took the mound – nine for each squad.
- Eight players had eight plate appearances.
- The Twins’ Eddie Rosario went four-for-eight, with three doubles, off three different pitchers.
- The Red Sox outhit the Twins 17-15 and out-homered the Twins 2-1.
- A total of 487 pitches were thrown.
- Twins’ catcher Mitch Garver “went the distance.”
- There were seven walks and 33 strikeouts.
- Thirty runners were left on base (Twins 16 – Red Sox 14).
- A lot of Minnesotans went to be late (or early in the a.m.), but happy.
I watched this one on television and have only one question. Did they quit selling beer after the seventh inning. If so, it was an extra long night at the ball park.
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