Defense lets Twins down in 3-2 loss to Mariners in 10 innings

SEATTLE – All mistakes are magnified in close games, but the Twins’ 3-2, 10-inning walk-off loss to the Seattle Mariners on Friday was defined by poor defense.

The Mariners scored their first run when Twins catcher Christian Vázquez mishandled a relay throw with a runner probably 20 feet from the plate. Another run scored on a throwing error.

With the score tied in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Mariners won without a hit in front of a sellout crowd at T-Mobile Park. Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, the automatic runner at second base, advanced to third on a groundout. Cole Sands, facing his college roommate Cal Raleigh, induced a slow chopper to the right of the mound. Crawford was running on contact, and Sands’ desperation throw was well wide of the plate.

“It’s somewhat frustrating for everyone involved when you lose on funky, unusual plays, softly-hit balls, things like that,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It doesn’t change the result. We’ve got to find ways to execute those plays and finish those plays.”

The Twins’ past six losses (coming over a stretch of 16 games since June 11) have all been by one run, the team’s longest such streak since 1972, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The loss spoiled another strong outing from Bailey Ober, who was almost as good Friday as his previous start when he pitched the first complete game of his career.

In the eighth inning, after Crawford failed to advance two runners with a pop-up on a bunt attempt, Julio Rodríguez hit a ground ball to third baseman Jose Miranda that ended up tying the score.

Miranda attempted to tag out pinch runner Luke Raley, who swerved onto the infield grass before Miranda fielded the ball to avoid a tag, and then Miranda bounced a throw to first base that skipped away from first baseman Carlos Santana. The ball rolled into foul territory, enabling Raley to score the tying run.

“The runner can establish his baseline anywhere he wants, even if it looks like it’s in an unusual spot,” said Baldelli, who hadn’t watched a replay when he spoke to reporters. “If he makes that move early, he can be on the grass or he can be outside of the conventional baseline. We know that. I’m not positive exactly when that occurred.”

Miranda added: “I thought they were going to call it an automatic out. The throw was a little bit low. I was a little bit off balance after reaching [for] him. It was a weird play, I really thought they were going to call him out. I don’t really know the rule on that one.”

BOXSCORE: Seattle 3, Twins 2 (10)

The Twins’ defensive mistake in the fifth inning was more straightforward. Ober issued a two-out walk to Mitch Haniger, his third walk of the game. Josh Rojas pulled the next pitch into the right-field corner, and Haniger, a slow runner, attempted to score from first.

Twins right fielder Max Kepler played the ball well in the corner and second baseman Willi Castro fired a one-hop relay throw to the plate that had Haniger beat by five or six steps. Vázquez, however, had the ball deflect off his catcher’s mitt, snapping Ober’s 11-inning scoreless streak.

“That’s a play we should make,” Baldelli said. “I think everyone knows that. I think Vazky was upset with himself, but it’s part of the game. We have to overcome a couple of these things.”

Ober gave up only two hits and one run in six innings while striking out nine. It was his third consecutive start with at least eight strikeouts.

“I feel like I’ve been able to locate better when I get to two strikes,” said Ober, who struck out five batters on called third strikes.

The Twins ended Logan Gilbert’s 21-inning scoreless streak. After Willi Castro was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth inning, Carlos Correa drilled a slider over the left-field fence for a go-ahead, two-run homer.

As Correa approached third base, he held up his right wrist while smiling at his teammates in the dugout. One day earlier, the Twins feared a broken bone and a season-altering injury when Correa held his wrist after he was hit by a pitch. Now, it was a celebration symbol.

The Twins produced only two singles after Correa’s home run against the Mariners bullpen, and neither runner advanced past first base. Their inability to bring in automatic runner Miranda cost them in their third consecutive 10-inning defeat after they started the season 3-0 in extra innings.