Twins get aggressive, steal series finale from Giants to snap skid

The game delivered some of everything: A leadoff home run, wild pitch, passed ball, sacrifice fly, runner thrown out at home from second, three errors by the Giants in a single inning and four bases stolen by the Twins that included a rare double-steal of home.

And don't forget a weird and wacky 7-1 Twins win Wednesday at Target Field.

"It was wild," said Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan, who pitched himself out of a first-inning jam and others while improving his record to 7-1. "We were covering everything. That was baseball."

The Twins had as many runs as hits on a hazy afternoon that drew 23,464 fans, the largest crowd of a three-game series the Giants won 2-1.

San Francisco had 10 hits but just one run, which briefly tied the score in the second inning after Twins rookie second baseman Edouard Julien hit his first home run at Target Field on Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani's second pitch of the game.

The Twins scored once in the first, twice each in the second and third innings, once in the fourth and again in the sixth against a Giants team that stranded 15 men on base to the Twins' six and were 2-for-16 with men in scoring position.

Julien not only hit his team's third leadoff homer this season — injured Max Kepler hit the other two — but he also helped quash whatever momentum the Giants had after the second-inning run.

With two runners in scoring position and the infield halfway up, Giants leadoff man LaMonte Wade Jr. hit an infield grounder that Julien scooped up and immediately threw home to catcher Ryan Jeffers. He put a swipe tag on Casey Schmitt as he tried to score from third.

"It was a cool game to watch if you were a fan," Julien said.

Julien was recalled from Class AAA St. Paul on Saturday for his second major-league stint this season, to help a shorthanded team that has among its injured Jorge Polanco, Trevor Larnach, Nick Gordon and Max Kepler. Star shortstop Carlos Correa (heel) and Joey Gallo (hamstring) also weren't in Wednesday's lineup, but manager Rocco Baldelli was hopeful would be better after Thursday's off day for a weekend home series against Toronto.

"I'd say a bit of both," Julien said when asked what was better, the homer or the throw right on target. "It was pretty cool. The leadoff home run was pretty unique. The first one at Target, I'll remember this one forever. It always feels better when you hit a home run oppo (opposite field) and it felt great."

The Twins scored twice just after Julien's second-out throw in the second inning. They then scored two more times with two outs in a third inning when the Giants committed all three of their errors.

San Francisco second baseman Brett Wisely committed both throwing and fielding errors while shortstop Brandon Crawford made the third. DeSclafani hit Willi Castro with a pitch, who, after he advanced to third, scored on a double steal for a 5-1 lead.

Famed voice of the Giants Jon Miller summed up the carnival of errors by calling the Twins' three runs in the third "extremely unearned runs."

Castro credited his reaction time to scouting DeSclafani's motion before the game.

"I think that's the first time," Castro said about stealing home. "I had a few attempts before, but I hadn't gotten the chance like I did today."

Jeffers homered in the sixth.

Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler pinch hit for Baldelli in his postgame media scrum and praised Ryan's resiliency, an efficient bullpen that also got itself out of jams and a varied offense.

"It was good for us to be able to touch home plate several times, doing it in different styles, whether it's the base running or the long ball," Tingler said.