OAKLAND, CALIF. – The Twins are wobbling, hobbling and sputtering toward the All-Star break.
They are playing like they are feeling the effects of playing one 17-inning game, one 18-inning game and placing six players on the injured list since June 18.
No doubt, baseball is a grind. And there are inevitable stretches where rosters are challenged and visits to the hot/cold tubs increase.
But the good teams grind back, ad-lib and win with what they've got.

And that's what they did on Wednesday, battling back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game with runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth -- the last one a game-tying solo home run by Jorge Polanco. Then they held off a couple scoring threats in extra innings before breaking through against Athletics closer Blake Treinen with an RBI single by Mitch Garver in the 12th.

The Twins pulled off the ultimate grinding win, crafting a comeback 4-3 win at Oakland Coliseum, in their latest extra-inning affair. It was the eighth time they faced their first three-game losing streak of the season but stared it down.
With Eddie Rosario on the injured list and Nelson Cruz and Marwin Gonzalez getting rest on Wednesday, the Twins held Oakland scoreless for the final 10 innings -- A's hitters were 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position -- before finding enough offense to win.
"We've played a handful of games already this year similar to this one, where it takes mental fortitude from everybody involved to maintain your composure, continue to play," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Our guys did that again. We have been tested in some pretty unique ways this year, some very difficult games."
Polanco's home run, the Twins' 161st this season, tied last year's Yankees for the most home runs before the All-Star break in Major League Baseball history.
It was the Twins' third game of at least 12 innings in the last 16 days.

After leaving two runners on base in the 11th, Byron Buxton and Max Kepler drew one out walks against Treinen before Garver, on a full count, slapped a single to left to score Buxton. Garver was 2-for-6 on Wednesday and felt he strung together quality at bats throughout the night.
"I know he's trying to get a ground ball," Garver said of Treinen, "and I know what I have to do to get the ball in the air, so a line drive works, obviously."
Taylor Rogers came on for the 12th to earn his 11th save. But he had to pitch around an error by Jonathan Schoop and got help from replay as Jurickson Profar singled Matt Chapman to third. But Profar was thrown out trying to advance to second. Replay caught him with his hand off the bag.
It was the second huge replay moment for the Twins on Wednesday. The Twins had something going in seventh with runners on first and second when Schoop hit a bouncing ball to short. Marcus Semien fed Ramon Barreto at second, but Barreto made a meal out of the play. First, he took his foot off second before he caught the ball, so Adrianza was safe. Then he threw wildly to first, so Schoop was safe as Arraez scored to make it 3-2. Schoop advanced to second as the ball skipped away from first baseman Matt Olsen.
Adrianza was initially called out at second, but the Twins smartly challenged the call and had it overturned. Adrianza was placed at third while Schoop remained at second. And Barreto charged with two errors.
The Twins refused to accept the gift, as Baldelli miscommunicated a safety squeeze. Players thought the suicide squeeze was on, as Buxton missed the pitch, Adrianza was tagged out during a rundown then Buxton struck out to end the inning.
But Nate Dammann, the Twins' replay maven, was 2-for-2 on Wednesday – and loomed as the Twins' 10th man.
"Nate Dammann, one of the players of the game today," Baldelli said. "It was a big night for Nate. He was on the money and was very decisive and did a great job for us. Part of the team."
Sometimes extra help is needed to push a banged up team over the hump. While the Twins clubhouse lacked its usual energy before the game, there was plenty of it afterward, as Gibson shouted about Garver and bench coach Derek Shelton praised Dammann.
"The satisfying feeling of coming through and people getting the job done and winning games, it's something you're definitely able to build up going forward always," Baldelli said.
The way this team is rolling, it would be wise to save extra space on your DVRs when recording games. Especially extra-inning games on the west coast.
"I think they can do a lot," Gibson said when asked about the impact of comeback wins on the road. "I don't think we've lost three in a row, which is cool. You never want to do that.
"I think it just shows that one, we're never out of a ballgame, it doesn't matter what the score is and we can find ways to score runs in a lot of different ways. I think recently we've struggled a little bit more coming up with the big hit and Garver doing that tonight in a big situation against a really good team and a really good pitcher on the mound, that makes a big difference."