Carlos Correa's walk-off single sends Twins past Mariners 4-3 in extra innings

Leave it to Max Kepler, the laid-back, unflappable, seen-it-all-before enemy of the mundane, to resort to a rallying cry to sum up the post-All-Star Twins.

"We believe!" Kepler declared after the Twins' fourth consecutive victory and second straight bottom-of-the-ninth rally from behind, this one 4-3 in 10 innings over the Mariners. "It doesn't matter if we don't score, there's always a chance to win the ballgame. You know, in baseball, things can turn real quick, at any time. Everyone is just believing!"

One night after tying the game in the ninth with a double against the White Sox, Alex Kirilloff delivered another ninth-inning double, this time to left-center, with the Twins trailing by a run. Kepler then hammered a pitch to the warning track in right to double Kirilloff home, and an inning later, Carlos Correa smacked a sinking line drive into right field that Teoscar Hernández couldn't reach. Donovan Solano scored from third base to secure the Twins' second extra-inning victory in two days.

"The vibes are great. We've faced some good pitchers [and] to be able to come back against them says a lot about this lineup and the big strides we're making in the second half," Correa said after his second walk-off hit of the season. "We're playing really good baseball since the break."

He's right about that. The victory, combined with Cleveland's loss to the Royals, stakes the Twins, in second place when the season resumed 10 days ago, to a four-game lead over the Guardians, their biggest since May 5. Minnesota's 9-2 post-All-Star record is the best in the major leagues.

The streak has been exhilarating for a team that's been doubted all season. But it hasn't exactly been easy.

Kenta Maeda gave up only one run over 6⅓ innings, a solo home run by Seattle catcher Tom Murphy, and departed with a 2-1. But in a déjà vu repeat of last Wednesday's start at Seattle, Maeda watched Griffin Jax — who hadn't given up a home run all season until that day's game-tying homer by Eugenio Suárez — serve up a game-changing blast, this time only one out from victory. Kolten Wong, who lost his starting spot by batting .151 with just one home run this year, loudly connected with a middle-of-the-plate sweeper from Jax in the ninth, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead.

The line drive barely reached the seats, but it was little solace to Jax. No, what cheered him up was when his Kirilloff and Kepler quickly tied the game against Mariners reliever Andrés Muñoz.

"It's a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. It's a lot of pressure in that last inning, and I know it doesn't happen a lot that when you give it up, you get it right back," Jax said.

So is Kepler's rebirth after a forgettable first half. The right fielder, in danger of losing his job after dipping below .200 late last month, has flourished hitting behind hot hitters Eduardo Julien and Kirilloff.

"It's nice to have people on base, and it's nice also to feel like I'm being pitched more to. I'm getting more pitches to hit," said Kepler, who is hitting .341 since the break. "They're hitting the ball well. So there's no way around me or my strike zone, it seems like right now. Yeah, it's nice."

Trevor Larnach's return to the majors was, too. Larnach has been flailing at the plate lately, even in Class AAA. One hit in the last 10 days, an .068 batting average since the Fourth of July, and just .202 since he was sent to St. Paul in mid-June.

Nothing that a promotion couldn't fix.

The Twins' on-again-off-again outfielder, recalled to the majors Monday when Byron Buxton left the team to be with his newborn son, cracked a low-and-inside slider from Mariners All-Star Luis Castillo off the right field wall, driving in Kepler from first base with a triple in the fifth inning.

Christian Vázquez, battling his own midsummer slump, followed with a sharp single to score Larnach.

"Tough win. Good win. It was gritty," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There was a lot of good baseball going on today over here."