Stunning rally in ninth shocks Twins back to life

Alexi Casilla, Adam Everett deliver as the Twins gain a game on the White Sox.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 19, 2008 - 10:31 AM

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - The Twins were tired of walk-off losses, tired of bullpen meltdowns, tired of watching opponents hit balls over the fence.

On Thursday night, it was time to take action.

So up stepped Alexi Casilla. Runner on first. Twins trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by two runs.

Casilla looked like he might bunt, but it was all a ploy. He wanted a fastball, and when Dan Wheeler threw one, Casilla hit it into the right field bleachers for a game-tying homer.

Moments later, Adam Everett toyed with the idea of bunting himself before smashing the go-ahead, RBI double that sent the Twins to an 11-8 triumph at Tropicana Field.

A disastrous start by Glen Perkins threatened to increase the Twins' losing streak to five games. Instead, they pulled within 1 1/2 games of the White Sox, who fell 9-2 to the Yankees.

"It's huge, there's no question," Everett said. "You've seen it from the beginning of September. We've had games snatched from us from the ninth inning on, and for us to snatch a game away from a team like Tampa Bay, that's huge for us."

The Rays were 77-1 when leading after eight innings. With two victories in this series, they can celebrate their first playoff berth in franchise history.

Tampa Bay overpowered the Twins for much of this game, hitting five home runs, including three by rookie Evan Longoria.

Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and the Rays answered with five runs, chasing Perkins, who lasted two-thirds of an inning in the shortest start of his career.

Philip Humber did a valiant job in relief, holding Tampa Bay to two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Joe Mauer trimmed Tampa Bay's lead to 7-6 with a two-run single off Rays phenom David Price before Longoria connected for his third home run, off Bobby Korecky.

It was 8-6, when Denard Span led off the ninth inning with a single against Wheeler, who had converted 11 of 15 save opportunities.

To that point, the Twins had been outhomered 18-3 over five games.

Just when you wondered how a small-ball team could compete at times like this, Casilla came to the plate. He already had dropped two sacrifice bunts, so when Wheeler made a pickoff throw to first base, Casilla pretended to square for another.

"I fake like I'm going to bunt and then, I knew the fastball is coming," Casilla said.

He said he was hoping to hit the ball through the hole between first and second base. Instead, it went into the seats for his seventh homer and his first since Aug. 23.

"I was surprised with that swing," Casilla said. "I saw the ball going, and I was like, 'Oh my God.' "

Three batters later, Everett came to the plate as a pinch hitter with runners at first and second. Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted a bunt, but after fouling one attempt, Everett swung through Trever Miller's 2-1 offering and hit his double off the left field wall.

Mauer scored from second base, and the Twins added two more runs. Joe Nathan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 37th save.

After suffering six walk-off defeats since Aug. 6, the Twins finally turned the tables.

"There's a lot of guys that are feeling pretty good out there [in the clubhouse]," Gardenhire said. "We needed that."

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