Twins get aggressive, survive lousy inning to beat Mets in 10

Byron Buxton, starting on second base in the 10th inning Wednesday at Target Field, saw Ty France hit a line drive to center field and there was no hesitation. Buxton sprinted around third to score the game-winning run in a 4-3 victory over the New York Mets.

It didn’t matter that center fielder Tyrone Taylor came close to the ball, which dropped a couple of feet in front of him. The Twins ran the bases aggressively all game and it made all the difference.

“I’ve seen it in the clubhouse the last few days: It’s been a different feel,” said Twins reliever Danny Coulombe, who recorded five outs against the middle of the Mets lineup in nine pitches. “Guys are having more fun. And that’s what it comes down to a lot of times.”

The Twins won their final two games against the first-place team in the National League East, matching their longest winning streak of the season. France, who notched his fourth career walk-off plate appearance when he singled on the third pitch in the 10th inning, was mobbed at first base with water bottles poured over his head.

The win came after reliever Griffin Jax blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning, giving up four hits. Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker hit back-to-back RBI doubles before Luisangel Acuña drove in the tying run with a single in the shortstop hole that Willi Castro mishandled.

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Twins left fielder Harrison Bader preserved the tie with a diving catch to end the eighth inning. Taylor, who lined out, pretended to throw his batting gloves at Bader and gave his former teammate a hug as Bader ran off the field.

Bader threw out Winker at the plate in the second inning, too, saving an early run with his arm.

“I ain’t even about to lie to you, every time [Bader] gets me going,” Buxton said. “He does something crazy like that, and I’m just sitting there looking at him. I had [Eddie Rosario] and I had [Max Kepler], but he’s a little different. ... Balls I’m like, OK, he may have a chance, he catches them standing up. The balls that I’m like he’s got zero chance, he catches them sliding.”

The Twins built their three-run lead straddling the line between aggressiveness and recklessness on the basepaths. Castro opened the fifth inning with a hustle double, sliding headfirst into second base after lining a ball to center field that was fielded after two bounces.

Two batters later, Bader hit an RBI single through the left side of the infield. As soon as Bader saw the ball shoot through, he did a “hang loose” gesture toward his teammates in the dugout. Buxton followed with an RBI single to center, sprinting to second base when a throw went toward a cutoff man at the pitcher’s mound instead of directly to the base. When Buxton stood up after his headfirst slide, he yelled and waved his arms for the announced crowd of 19,721 to grow louder.

“You can’t be a one-dimensional lineup,” Bader said.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Castro drove in a run with a ground ball to first base. It was a missed call by first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt — Mets reliever José Buttó clearly touched first base before Castro after receiving a flip from the first baseman — but the Mets burned their challenge earlier. Ryan Jeffers never stopped running and scored from second.

BOXSCORE: Twins 4, New York Mets 3 (10)

MLB standings

“You don’t have to be the fastest team in baseball to run the bases well and play aggressively,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Making sure that we’re pushing the envelope and making the other team make plays.”

The top of the fifth inning gave the Twins some energy. Starting pitcher David Festa was knocked out of the game after giving up two singles and plunking Francisco Lindor with a first-pitch fastball, exiting with the bases loaded and one out for Juan Soto.

Coulombe, facing the hitter who garnered the richest contract in baseball history, induced a ground ball to second base with a sinker on his first pitch. Edouard Julien fielded it cleanly; tagged out Lindor, who tried to spin away; and barely beat Soto to first base for an inning-ending, unassisted double play.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that one before,” Festa said. “It felt like the last two steps that Eddy took were in slow motion.”

It was one of those plays that left every player with a different reaction. Julien immediately ran to the dugout and high-fived teammates. Coulombe clapped into his glove. France, who was prepared for a throw from Julien then jumped out of the way of a foot race, stood motionless with his right arm in the air after his version of a pirouette.

Whatever it takes to make the play and earn a win.

“That was just a whirlwind,” France said.