Lopez, pitching strong in Twins win over Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (KELO) — Eddie Julien and Matt Wallner homered and Pablo Lopez pitched into the seventh inning as the Twins claimed a 4-3 win over the Rays.

Multiple run innings have been the downfall of the Twins over the past few days, but the combination of Lopez, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran kept the Rays offense in check enough for the Twins to earn a split.

The scoring started in the second inning as Julien hit a three run homerun, his first since April.

Wallner added a solo homerun in the third to build a 4-0 lead.

The Rays added two in the third and another in the seventh to close the gap to one. Jax would earn a strikeout to end the seventh and leave the tying run on base.

Lopez is now 14-8 on the season, while Duran added save 22.

THE RECORD

The win, fueled by perhaps the Twins best three pitchers, helped Minnesota improve to 76-64, which is second in AL Central and AL Wild Card, a half game ahead of the Royals.

The Twins are still four games back of the Guardians.

UP NEXT

Minnesota opens a key series on Friday with a key three game set in Kansas City. The probable starters are Zebby Matthews for the Twins and Cole Ragans for the Royals.

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