Myers' RBI single in 9th and strong bullpen outing lift Reds past Twins 5-4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dane Myers had an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Cincinnati Reds scored the game’s final three runs to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 Saturday. Cincinnati’s bullpen tossed 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with Kyle Nicolas (1-0) striking out the side in the eighth before Tony Santillan struck out two in a clean ninth for his first save. Pinch-hitter Spencer Steer opened the ninth by reaching on a single that deflected off the glove of Twins’ shortstop Brooks Lee.
Sacrificed to second base, Steer scored on a bloop single by Myers off Cole Sands (0-1). Cincinnati is 10-0 in games decided by fewer than three runs, tied for the second-longest stretch (Boston 1946, Cleveland 1966) to open an MLB season. Milwaukee was 12-0 in 1987.
The Reds are 6-0 in one-run games. The Reds' bullpen, which tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in Friday’s 2-1 win, has a MLB-leading 2. 31 ERA.
Eugenio Suárez scored on a sacrifice fly by Rece Hinds to tie the game at 4 in the eighth. A Ryan Jeffers two-run triple, his first three-base hit since Sept. 24, 2023, gave the Twins an 2-0 first-inning lead and Brooks Lee’s RBI single made it 4-2 Twins in the fifth, but Sam Moll struck out Tristan Gray with the bases loaded.
Minnesota, which entered the game second in the majors hitting . 306 with runners in scoring position, finished 3 for 15. Of its 11 runners left on base, eight were in scoring position.