Minneapolis – As corny as franchise promotional nights such as Star Wars and Marvel can be in Major League Baseball parks, a different feeling resonates with them when the home team gives the fans a walk-off victory.
That was the case for the Twins on Friday night when Ty France blasted his first-ever walk-off home run off the Kansas City Royals' reliever Lucas Erceg to his team’s bullpen in left centerfield.
Coming into tonight’s game, France was 0-for-4 with a strikeout in his career against Erceg; some might say he had just as
“I’ve been doing this a little while now,” France said postgame on Twins.TV. “Just trying to slow my heart rate down, treat it like another at-bat, and put a good swing on the ball.”
Star Wars fans like to debate whether or not Han Solo has Force abilities to manage flying through that asteroid field when the odds of successfully doing so are 3,720 to 1. The same can be said about a hitter who has never gotten a hit off a dominating reliever like Erceg when he could end the game on one pitch.
Star Wars creator George Lucas wrote the line for Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars: “It’s an energy field created by all living beings. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.”
Interpret it how you will, but on Star Wars night, France opened himself up to the Force as an ally to give his team the walk-off win.
“It was unbelievable,” said Twins starter Pablo López. “Like he said, ‘We don’t get paid extra for extra innings,’ so I’m glad he took it upon himself to take care of that in the ninth inning.”
“Ty coming through there just makes the game in a lot of ways,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said postgame. “It allows you to appreciate the pitching that we had today even more when you get a swing like that to win the game.”
“It was sick, man, it was sick,” said Carlos Correa, who played in his first game since May 15 after being on the 7-day concussion IL. “Erceg is such a tough pitcher to get the ball in the air against. And when Ty puts that good of a swing on a first-pitch slider… it was very impressive. It was a great win for us.”
If any player in the Twins clubhouse can resonate with the fans who are in the stands specifically for Star Wars night, it’s Correa. He named his firstborn son Kylo, which caught the attention of many fans of the franchise. However, his play on both sides of the ball was more attention-grabbing on his Star Wars bobblehead night.
He went 2-for-4 with a home run in his first at-bat and beat out an infielder single to put himself on first as the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Not to mention a key double play in the top of the seventh to end the inning for the Twins instead of having Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino in scoring position with two outs.
“I think it was a perfect way to get back to doing a little bit of everything and get my feet wet once again," said Correa. "[i'll] just go from there."
“Carlos looked really great at the plate all day long," said Baldelli. "Great return for him on both sides of the ball."
López allowed seven hits through 5 ⅔ innings, and the first batter of the game, Jonathan India, scored in the top of the first. Still, he and Minnesota's bullpen were able to put together eight scoreless innings for the rest of the night, and prevented all other Royals base runners from advancing past second base.
“It wasn’t the prettiest or most dominant, but you’ve got to deal with it," said López. "Put some men on base for free, put up a good share of hits in two-strike counts, and I think the biggest place of growth for myself on the mound. … On the mound, I beat myself up real quick, and then I was like, ‘All right, I cannot let that guy score.’
López’s focus on the mound determined his reality for the rest of the night and helped keep the Twins in the game against a division rival who was tied with them for second place coming into tonight’s game. Minnesota is 2-3 against the Royals after walking them off. However, it shifted the momentum in the right direction for the Twins, making 10 men feel like 100 for the rest of the series.
“When we played them before, it felt like it was not really our brand of baseball," said Correa. "I feel like this, big wins like that in close games that were getting away at the beginning of the year. Lately, we’ve been doing a good job of securing them, and we’ll just keep doing that.”
With the walk-off win in the pocket, fans were celebrating in the stands as if they were on Naboo
“I think Bobblehead Night," said Correa, "because it was a Star Wars bobblehead.”
The Twins' walk-off win moved them up a game on the Royals. However, the pesky Cleveland Guardians have won their first two games in a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers, increasing the stakes for a weekend series in May.
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