Ortiz provides late spark, Brewers score 5 runs in 12th inning to outlast Twins 8-4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joey Ortiz hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 12th inning after hustling home for the go-ahead run in the 11th, one of many players to give the Milwaukee Brewers a spark out of the All-Star break and help them beat the Minnesota Twins 8-4 on Saturday night.

“This was a relentless victory, if there ever was one,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Jackson Chourio had two RBIs on three singles and Brice Turang padded the lead in the five-run 12th with a two-run single for the Brewers, who finally finished the job long after starter Freddy Peralta’s six shutout innings.

Carlos Santana crushed a two-out, two-strike slider from Jakob Junis (2-0) for the tying two-run homer for the Twins in the 11th — off his most recent former team — after the Brewers scored twice in that inning.

Steven Okert (3-1) stumbled through the 12th inning to take the loss. Jake Bauers popped up his bunt up the third-base line, but as Okert approached the falling ball he realized he couldn’t catch it and, instead of letting it drift foul, touched it too soon. Okert had no play as he stumbled toward third and the Brewers loaded the bases with none out to start their romp.

“I don’t know if I would have had a chance at it,” Twins third baseman Brooks Lee said. “But regardless, that ball’s going to roll foul, too. It happens.”

Ortiz, the automatic runner in the 11th, took third on a wild pitch and scored with a head-first dive to beat the tag on an infield-in chopper.

“We came back stronger, and that’s great for us,” Peralta said. “I think this game is going to mean a lot because it was the first one of the second half, so now we just keep going that way.”

After so many midweek matchups against their border-state foe, the Twins finally landed a weekend series against the Brewers — albeit for just two games in Major League Baseball ‘s scheduling format that will next season expand designated interleague rivalries to three-game sets hosted by each side.

With classic midsummer weather and more standing room space than when the ballpark opened in 2010, the announced crowd of 41,679 fans was the largest for a regular-season game in Target Field history.

The Brewers (56-42) have held first place in the NL Central for 103 consecutive days, despite losing seven of their last 10 games going into the break. They have a five-game lead on St. Louis.

The Twins (54-43) stayed five games behind Cleveland in the AL Central. They hold the second of three wild card spots.

Twins starter Pablo López had seven strikeouts in seven innings with four hits, one walk and one run allowed. He finished seven innings for just the fourth time in 20 starts.

Willi Castro, fresh off his first All-Star Game selection, doubled in the eighth inning for the Twins and scored the tying run with a headfirst dive on an infield-in chopper.

The Twins brought back second baseman Edouard Julien to help fill the infield void with shortstop Carlos Correa going on the injured list with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and after more than six weeks in Triple-A he shined with his glove in his return and also had the first hit off Peralta in the third inning.

“There were a few good swings,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We just needed more.”

Brewers: RHP Aaron Civale (2-7, 4.94 ERA) takes the mound on Sunday afternoon. In his start at Target Field for Tampa Bay on June 18, Civale allowed the Twins seven hits, four runs and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He was acquired by Milwaukee in a trade July 3.

Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (6-6, 3.53 ERA) pitches the series finale. He’s 3-0 in his last four home starts.

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