Miguel Sano, the Twins young slugger who's had his challenges at third base this season, gave lip service to his fielding exploits and smooched a ground ball that came his way Saturday night before making the game-ending throw to first base.
Sano's gesture of confidence sealed the 11-9 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, wrapping up a marathon nine-inning game of more than 4 hours.
Getting in a jab at Sano's trouble of late with pop-ups, Manager Paul Molitor revealed that "someone said he kissed it because he was glad it was a grounder and not a pop-up. I won't say who."
The social media folk with Major League Baseball liked the move Sano made on the ball hit by Xander Bogaerts so much that they shared it here: https://vine.co/v/5mFzp7qarUq.
And here's another view: http://m.mlb.com/video/v962674283/minbos-kintzler-nabs-bogaerts-for-the-final-out/?game_pk=448321.
Despite the slick play Saturday night on the sharply hit ball, Sano's troubles in the field resumed Sunday, when couldn't come up with a routine ground ball at a crucial time during Boston's five-run fifth inning.
Star Tribune staff write La Velle E. Neal III contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
