Twins righty Taj Bradley tossed the first immaculate inning in franchise history on Tuesday against the A’s. He punched out Carlos Cortes, Brian Serven, and Henry Bolte on nine pitches.
1. Another walk-off HR for Waldschmidt
Diamondbacks rookie Ryan Waldschmidt has three career home runs. Two of them have been of the walk-off variety. Clay Holmes completely silenced Arizona through seven innings. The club scored three times against Daniel Palencia in the eighth inning. Down to their final out, the Diamondbacks sent Waldschmidt to the plate to hit for Jorge Barrosa. He yanked a hanging slider from Jacob Webb over the left-field fence for the game-winner. Waldschmidt is the fourth rookie with multiple come-from-behind walk-off homers in a season, and the first since Ryan Zimmerman in 2006 (h/t Sarah Langs of MLB.com).
2. Miller finally allows HR
It had been more than a year since Padres closer Mason Miller gave up a home run. His streak of 76 2/3 innings without a homer was the longest in the league. Oneil Cruz ended the run with a 112 mph laser to put the Pirates ahead in the ninth inning on Tuesday. Mason Montgomery closed it out for a 1-0 victory. Cruz punished a rare changeup from Miller, a pitch he’d like to have back. “Humans can be idiots sometimes,” Miller said, relayed by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “Tip your hat. Good swing. Crushed it obviously. But I just can’t be throwing that pitch in that spot.”
3. Duran slam lifts Red Sox
More late-inning heroics, this time from Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. Boston nearly had Miami beat in the 10th inning when Javier Sanoja struck out, but the ball got away from catcher Connor Wong and Brian Navarreto scored the tying run. Duran gave the Red Sox the lead for good in the top of the 11th inning, launching a grand slam off Cade Gibson. He leads the league with 17 RBI in the ninth inning or later (h/t ESPN Insights on X). Duran has scuffled for most of the season, but he has a .839 OPS with five home runs in August.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
