Twins throw it away in the 9th, fall to Cardinals

Every baseball season, there are a handful of games that a team feels they "should have" won.

Sunday was one of those games for the Twins.

And with the schedule winding down and the pennant race heating up, this one stings even more.

Up 2-1 thanks to a dramatic pinch-hit, run-scoring double by Royce Lewis in the eighth inning, and with closer Jhoan Duran throwing his wicked stuff, it all went up in smoke.

Eduardo Julien threw wildly to second base on an attempted force play, putting runners on second and third for St. Louis.

Then with two outs, Lars Nootbaar singled both home, and the Cardinals held on to beat the Twins 3-2.

“First time that I’ve ever (missed) on a double-play throw arm-side,” Julien said. “Maybe my feet weren’t turned enough, but I usually do that. I don’t know. It just happened in a bad moment.”

Victor Scott II homered for St. Louis, which has won four of five overall.

“I love this one. We just snatched it from them,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said.

Minnesota lost for the first time in 60 games this season when leading after the eighth inning. The Twins are tied for second place with Kansas City, with both trailing AL Central-leading Cleveland by three games.

Shawn Armstrong (3-2) got two outs for the win, and Ryan Helsley worked the ninth for his MLB-leading 40th save.

Willi Castro put Minnesota in front when he hit a leadoff homer in the first against Erick Fedde. It was Castro’s 11th of the season.

Scott responded with his second career homer in the fifth against Zebby Matthews.

Fedde struck out seven in six innings in his fifth start since he was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. The veteran right-hander allowed two hits and walked three.

In three starts against Minnesota this season, Fedde has allowed two earned runs in 17 innings while striking out 23.

Matthews worked five innings in his third career start. He struck out seven, allowed four hits and walked none.

NICE CATCHES

Minnesota’s Austin Martin made a diving catch to take a hit away from Arenado in the fourth inning, and Martin was robbed by Alec Burleson one inning later.

The St. Louis first baseman snared a foul popup by reaching over the railing by the camera well adjacent to the Twins dugout. Burleson continued to hold onto the railing with one arm after the catch as his momentum nearly took him down the dugout steps.

TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins right fielder Max Kepler was a late scratch with left knee soreness. ... 1B/OF Alex Kirilloff has been pulled from his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul because of a flare-up in his back. He has been on the injured list since June 12 with a mild back strain.

UP NEXT
Twins righthander Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.54 ERA) is scheduled to face Atlanta LHP Max Fried (7-7, 3.57 ERA) when the teams begin a three-game series Monday in Minneapolis.