Twins' playoff hopes on life support after 13-inning defeat to 100-loss Marlins

MINNEAPOLIS — Three down, three to go.

That’s the sorry state of the Minnesota Twins’ season now, their faint final playoff hopes requiring unlikely weekend sweeps in two different cities. Hey, maybe the Chicago White Sox will take three straight in Detroit, right?

Right?

That would require a miracle only slightly more shocking than the Twins sweeping the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, at least if their play on Thursday is any indication. The Twins went 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position, committed an error that cost them a critical run, failed to score in three of four extra innings and allowed the 100-loss Miami Marlins to shove them to the brink of elimination with an ugly 8-6, 13-inning loss at Target Field.

A pair of Miami rookies had the big hits in the 13th inning: Otto Lopez doubled home courtesy runner Dane Myers, and Griffin Conine singled home two runs with the bases loaded. The Twins responded with a run in the bottom of the inning, but heard boos from the handful of fans remaining as Carlos Correa tapped back to the pitcher to end the game.

Correa had hit his first home run since July 10, driving a belt-high sweeper 427 feet into the third deck in left field, but the Twins’ offense missed opportunity after opportunity, particularly in extra innings, and their rally from a 4-0 deficit was fueled largely by poor Marlins defense.

The Twins finished 18-28 this season against National League teams, and now must sweep the Orioles at home while the Kansas City Royals go 0-for-3 in Atlanta or the Tigers get swept at home by the 120-loss White Sox.

“Well, I’m rooting for them to lose,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said before Thursday’s finale with Miami. “But really, all we can control is our game tonight.”

Control might not be the right word, not the way the Twins have played over the past six weeks (11-24 since Aug. 18) or the last three weeks (7-15 since Sept. 3).

After watching the Tigers rally from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Royals score three in the ninth to finish off the Nationals on Thursday afternoon, the Twins came to Target Field knowing they had to win in order to make the weekend meaningful. But three batters into the night, they were already behind.

Rookie David Festa walked leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards to open the game, then left a one-out changeup in the strike zone to Jake Burger. He drove the pitch off the padding in front of the bullpens, and Edwards scored easily.

Festa, off a one-run, five-inning performance in Boston last week, was effective for much of his outing after that, retiring eight straight Marlins at one point. But four of the first five Marlins to bat in the fifth inning slapped singles, scoring two runs and chasing Festa from the game.

Caleb Thielbar relieved Festa, and walked Jesús Sánchez to load the bases. With the infield drawn in, pinch-hitter Dane Myers hit a ground ball directly at shortstop Correa, whose throw easily beat Edwards to the plate. But it bounced off catcher Ryan Jeffers’ glove and fell to the dirt, an error that allowed the Marlins’ fourth run to score.

Errors cost the Marlins — who have committed more misplays (116) than any other MLB team this year, and gifted the Twins a victory on Wednesday by committing four errors — a chance to finish off the Twins without extra innings.

The Twins trailed 4-1 entering the seventh, when Jeffers singled and Austin Martin moved him to third with a two-out double to deep right-center. But the inning appeared over when Byron Buxton hit a routine ground ball to Marlins shortstop Edwards.

Edwards, though, hurried his throw to get the speedy Buxton, and it drifted high and wide of the base, pulling first baseman Jonah Bride an inch or two off the base and allowing Jeffers to score.

And in the eighth, Royce Lewis hit a foul popup in front of the Marlins’ dugout, all but certain to leave the Twins with two outs and nobody on.

Instead, the ball plopped to the ground between catcher Nick Fortes and third baseman Connor Norby. Given a second chance, Lewis drew a walk, and moved to third on Carlos Santana’s single. Brooks Lee followed with a double off the right-field wall, scoring two runs and energizing the announced crowd of 17,341.

That crowd reached a frenzy when Norby fielded a Buxton grounder in the ninth and short-hopped Bride with his throw, allowing Buxton to reach second base. But ground outs — cleanly fielded — by Trevor Larnach and Lewis ended the threat.