Twins 6, Rays 4
Josmil Pinto belted a three-run homer off Joel Peralta in the eighth inning as host Minnesota rallied to end an 11-game losing streak to Tampa Bay.
Ryan Doumit also hit a solo blast in the eighth off Peralta (2-8) to make it 4-3 and Chris Parmelee knocked in two runs in the seventh for the Twins, who avoided the three-game sweep. Casey Fien (5-2) retired one batter with the bases loaded in the eighth for the victory and Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save.
Rookie Wil Myers hit a two-run homer and scored a pair of runs for Tampa Bay, which shares the top spot in the American League wild card race with Texas - one-half game ahead of Cleveland. Rays starter David Price allowed two runs, six hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings.
Ben Zobrist (two hits) reached on an infield single in the fourth and was erased on a fielder’s choice before Myers hammered his 12th homer into the second deck in left-center. Sean Rodriguez led off the fifth inning with his fourth homer of the season for a 3-0 lead.
Price escaped a two-on, none-out threat in the fifth and stranded Eduardo Escobar in the sixth after he had led off with a double. The Twins loaded the bases with one out against Price in the seventh, and Parmelee lined his two-run single to left-center off reliever Jake McGee to close the gap to 3-2.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota starter Pedro Hernandez gave up three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings. … Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe had three hits and finished the series 5-for-11. … The Rays start a four-game set at home against Texas and the Twins are at the Chicago White Sox to begin a three-game series on Monday.