Here are the final totals from the Twins' 1-0 victory over Kansas City on Thursday: 25 runners left on base, 14 walks, 13 hits, 11 innings, nine pitchers used, three hit batters, three stitches and one headache.
The lengths the Twins have to go to win a game these days.
The 3-hour, 42-minute game might have cut into happy hour, but the Twins ended their four-game losing streak on Mike Redmond's RBI single off Todd Wellemeyer in the 11th.
It came at a price. Redmond was laid out in the fourth inning when Tony Pena Jr.'s backswing clobbered him in the head and left shoulder blade. With Joe Mauer the designated hitter, the Twins were on the verge of either giving up the DH or suiting up Luis Rodriguez as the emergency catcher.
"He basically told me, 'You know I can't come out of the game and I'm not coming out of this blankety-blank game,' " Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And I said, 'O.K.' "
Redmond, with his shoulder wrapped in ice, beamed afterward after taking the shot but still helping a team that batted .148 with runners in scoring position during the four-game homestand.
"I'm glad I was the guy who got the big hit," Redmond said. "Hopefully that's the one that takes us over the hump."
Across the clubhouse, Torii Hunter was dressed in a snappy suit and ready for Detroit. He looked perfect, except for a swollen upper lip, the result of being hit in the mouth by a pitch from Royals righthander Zack Greinke in the second inning. Hunter took a couple of steps toward the mound before the angel on his shoulder -- or pain -- made him stop and drop to the ground.
"It was a tough week for me," Hunter said. "I've been in the champagne scandal, the Jackie Robinson comments. And I thought about all of that and said, 'Man, I can't give nobody else something to talk about.' So I just shut it down."
Hunter was taken to Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where he received three stitches for a laceration on the inside of his lip. Hunter intends to play today -- without any protection.
Greinke and other Royals players checked on Hunter before he left the field. Greinke spoke with Hunter later.
"He said he's doing fine," Greinke said. "A couple of stitches and a bruised lip. He's a good guy. Everybody knows that."
Greinke and Twins righthander Boof Bonser piled up scoreless-yet-unimpressive innings before Justin Morneau and Jason Tyner got one-out singles in the 11th and Redmond ended it. The tougher team won.
"I wish I was a football player," Redmond said. "I wish I was big like a football player."
La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com
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