Cardinals vs Twins Recap: Quick comeback falls short

The Cardinals walked into Target Field on Sunday looking for payback. Minnesota had beaten them 5-4 the night before, and St. Louis wasn't ready to leave town empty-handed. The Twins owned a 32-40 record. The Cardinals sat at 38-30, riding a one-game winning streak. Right away, the game turned into a slugfest. In the fourth inning, Alec Burleson stepped into Taj Bradley's fastball and rocketed it over the right field wall—a 397-foot blast that landed with a bang. One run in. The Cardinals felt good. But Minnesota answered back immediately. Victor Caratini crushed a pitch from Michael McGreevy to right-center field, 411 feet of pure power. Josh Bell scored behind him. Suddenly it was 1-1, and the momentum had shifted. Both teams were swinging hard, and you could feel something special brewing.

By the sixth inning, things were getting tense. The score sat at 3-2, Cardinals leading. Then JJ Wetherholt came up against Bradley. The young Cardinals infielder worked the count to 1-1. Bradley threw his 90-mile-per-hour cutter on the next pitch, and Wetherholt was ready. He connected hard to right field—380 feet of pure hitting. The ball cleared the wall, and Nathan Church scored behind him. St. Louis now led 3-1. The Cardinals felt in control. But Minnesota's bats wouldn't go quiet. The seventh inning brought chaos. Wetherholt singled to center, scoring Jose Fermin with Church on third. The Cardinals looked like they might pull away completely. Then Byron Buxton stepped up for the Twins. His single to left brought Keaschall home. Royce Lewis followed with another single to left, plating Kreidler. Suddenly it was 4-4, all tied up.

The eighth inning became the stage for Minnesota's hero. The Twins were still tied at 4-4. Ryan Kreidler stepped up to the plate facing George Soriano. The count went 1-0, then Soriano threw his 85-mile-per-hour sweeper. Kreidler didn't miss it. He ripped a double to center field, and Keaschall scored from second base. That was it. The Twins were up 5-4. The Cardinals fought back but couldn't answer. St. Louis went down quietly in the ninth. Yoendrys Gomez came in for Minnesota and threw three strikeouts in one inning to seal the win. The Twins escaped with a 5-4 victory at home. The Cardinals fell to 38-31. Minnesota improved to 33-40. The home crowd erupted. It was exactly the kind of game that keeps you on the edge of your seat from first pitch to last.