Patrick Reusse: Buscher comes through when Twins need it most

MILWAUKEE — The bases were loaded for Jason Kubel in the 12th inning of a Metrodome game against the Boston Red Sox. The date was June 13, 2006, and the rival pitcher was Julian Taverez, a veteran righthanded reliever.

Kubel smashed a winning home run -- one of the early highlights in the Twins' long, remarkable run to the American League Central title.

On Saturday night, Kubel was batting with two on and no outs in the 12th inning at Miller Park. The fifth pitcher of the night for the Brewers was Tavarez, picked up a couple of weeks ago after he was let go by the Red Sox.

Relief pitchers remember grand slams. And Tavarez walked Kubel on four pitches, preferring to load the bases rather than give him a fastball to hit.

Delmon Young followed with an infield chopper and Joe Mauer was forced out at the plate.

The Twins had left a potential winning run at third base with one out in the 11th, when Carlos Gomez struck out and Alexi Casilla bounced out against Tavarez.

It would have been a nasty blow to fail again in this situation. The hitter was Brian Buscher, a lefty-hitting third baseman. He was recalled Friday and now was in the lineup in place of slump-ridden Mike Lamb, another lefty-hitting third baseman.

"He threw me changeup, changeup, I think, when I faced him the inning before," Buscher said. "I didn't want to get in the situation of swinging at his changeup. He threw me a first-pitch sinker and I was able to put a swing on it."

Buscher's two-run single put the Twins ahead 6-4. Later in the inning, Michael Cuddyer came off the bench with the bruised knuckle on his right hand, tripled off the glove of center fielder Mike Cameron in deep center, and then scored when a throw eluded a cutoff man.

That blow was worth two RBI for Cuddyer, and a final unearned run to give the Twins a 9-4 victory and a 2-0 lead in this interleague series.

The Brewers were cruising along with a 3-1 lead through six innings, and then what seemed a routine victory for veteran starter Jeff Suppan turned into one of the season's most-interesting games.

And Buscher's evening became much more interesting simultaneously with the game.

"My first couple of at-bats, I rolled over on a couple of off-speed pitches and grounded out," Buscher said. "My third at-bat, I finally was able to drive a ball some."

Buscher's booming fly ball to center field went for a sacrifice fly and cut the Brewers' lead to 3-2 in the seventh. The Twins then tied it in the eighth on Justin Morneau's soft single for his 51st RBI.

Salomon Torres, the Brewers closer, had finished the eighth. Buscher opened the ninth with a line drive to right field.

"I was a couple of steps from first when I saw the ball get by the outfielder [Corey Hart]," he said. "I thought, 'I have to get three out of this.' "

The husky Buscher doesn't have a runner's frame, but he did make it to third -- single and a two-base error. And from there he scored on Brendan Harris' sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 4-3 lead, and give closer Joe Nathan a chance to secure the victory.

Russell Branyan pinch hit with one out. Years of Branyan history indicate that if you put some giddyap on a high fastball, he'll chase and probably strike out. If you get the fastball between the knees and the waist, he swing changes and his power shows up.

Nathan threw a fastball down and Branyan killed it. It went into a little strand of stands in deepest right-center field, a screaming line drive.

Way back in 1987, Kirby Puckett had a weekend in Milwaukee where he went 10-for-11 with four home runs and four doubles in two games. The last hit was a line drive that sizzled into the right-field bleachers.

Milwaukee's Dan Plesac, the victim of that blow, said: "I think Puck killed three people out there."

Branyan tried to top that. The shot was estimated at 415 feet, and that was 40 feet shy of the home run that Ryan Braun hit to left field against the Twins' Glen Perkins in the fifth inning.

"Longest ever?" someone asked Perkins later.

"What do you mean?" Perkins said.

"Longest home run allowed," the visitor said.

Perkins looked a bit miffed, took a sip of an adult beverage and said: "He walked into that one, no doubt about it."

Braunyan's bolt might have had the most horsepower ever off a Nathan pitch. And it also sent the game to extra innings.

Buscher singled in the 11th and worked his way to his third, but wound up stranded there. And then when he had his chance to be the RBI man in the 12th, he delivered, finished with three hits and three RBI, and some crazy footwork on the bases.

Buscher returned to the Twins on Friday, replacing departed pitcher Juan Rincon on the roster. He had an ice pack on his right knee after Saturday's 12 innings.

"Patella soreness ... tendinitis," he said. "I missed a couple of games with it in [Class AAA] Rochester, and then DH'ed a couple more. But I'm good to go.

"Definitely. I'm fine."

Three hits, three RBI, and a chance to be back in the lineup today? Definitely, he's fine.

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com