Batting with two outs in the ninth inning, with your team trailing, "can be pretty intense at-bats," Joe Mauer said. "You do anything to keep the game alive — nobody wants to make the last out and walk off that way." Especially on the road, Mauer said, "it can be a fun at-bat, because the crowd is usually into it, on their feet." Mauer should know — his strikeout against Aroldis Chapman on June 29 to end a game in Cincinnati meant he missed by one day going a full calendar year without making a game's final out, a streak that began on June 30, 2014. Until Chapman got him, Mauer had gone 3-for-3 with a walk this year when batting with two outs in the ninth of a game the Twins trailed.
last call
Here are the Twins who have made the final out the most times this season (MLB leader: Jason Kipnis, 13):
Trevor Plouffe7
Torii Hunter5
Kurt Suzuki4
Kennys Vargas4
Brian Dozier3
Eduardo Escobar3
