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Redmond caps ninth-inning rally with walk-off single

Jun 15, 2007 - 5:01 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Mike Redmond singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, in an interleague matchup on Thursday.

Closer Bob Wickman's third blown save of the season spoiled an outstanding performance by Braves starter Tim Hudson, who outpitched Minnesota ace Johan Santana.

After Hudson and Rafael Soriano got through eight innings allowing just two hits, the Twins mounted their 19th comeback triumph by collecting four hits in the decisive frame.

"Without those guys in front of me, they gave me a chance to get up there and get that last hit," Redmond said. "That last inning, the momentum just kept building, building, and building. I just wanted to get that hit. After all that work, I didn't want to be the guy to stop the rally."

Luis Castillo opened the ninth with a base hit and after a groundout by Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer lined a triple to left, plating Castillo. Justin Morneau reached on an infield single to first but Cuddyer held at third.

Torii Hunter then grounded to third, but Yunel Escobar's throw to the plate went past catcher Brian McCann for a throwing error and a tie game. That set the stage for Redmond, who lined a 2-2 offering from Wickman (1-2) to left field, scoring Morneau with the winning run.

"You go through to those last at-bats," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The right guys come up at the right time in the lineup. It seems to work out sometimes when you put the right guys in the lineup at the right places, and tonight it did."

"The ninth inning is a funny inning," Wickman said. "A lot of people think it's an easy inning to pitch in and stuff like that, because it is just one inning. I have seen a lot of different things happen. And, if anything can go wrong, that is the inning it usually can happen."

Dennys Reyes (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

The 31-year-old Hudson, who was coming off his shortest outing of his season - two innings - Saturday in a 9-5 win to the Chicago Cubs, yielded just two hits and a walk with two strikeouts before being removed after throwing just 84 pitches with tightness in his shoulder.

"He was carving us up," Hunter said. "He was having surgery on us. He was out there hitting his spots. His sinker ball was sinking, had his off-speed working."

Hudson also left that game early against the Cubs after being hit on the shin by a liner. Thursday's injury wasn't deemed serious, but Atlanta manager Bobby Cox decided to go to the bullpen anyway.

"He was cautious, and the way our bullpen's been all year it was definitely the right move," Hudson said.

At one point, Hudson retired 14 straight and looked on his way to improving to 7-2 in 14 career starts against the Twins before disaster struck.

"He was filthy," McCann said of Hudson. "It was the second time this year he had no-hitter stuff and got the loss. Tonight, it is just what he does. He is a great pitcher."

McCann homered in the fifth to give the Braves a 1-0 lead and Matt Diaz provided an insurance run in the sixth with a two-out RBI double.

Santana pitched seven innings, surrendering two runs and five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.

"I felt good. I made one mistake and that is about it," Santana said. "We won the game, that is what we are looking for. It is always good to keep that momentum going."

The 19 come-from-behind wins is the second most in the American League behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But, it was the first time in 28 games, Minnesota had come back after trailing after eight innings.

"The hitters that we have in this lineup, it is going to be tough to get us out consistently throughout the course of the game," Cuddyer said. "We were able to put together quality at-bats in that ninth inning."