It appeared as though the Minnesota Twins were headed toward yet another disappointing loss on Sunday night, the kind of frustrating defeat we’ve seen all too much of this season.
Then Matt Wallner stepped to the plate and saved the day.
Minnesota gave up the lead to Arizona in the ninth inning, but got it back in the home half thanks to yet another bomb from Max Kepler. It’s been a fantastic series not only for Kepler but for Twins bats, which is why the way things appeared to be going on Sunday afternoon was in danger of harsh in everyone’s buzz.
As if Kepler’s game-tying home run was exciting enough, Wallner had something similar up his sleeve and guaranteed Twins fans wouldn’t end the weekend on anything other than a high note.
Listen to epic Dick Bremer call of Matt Wallner walk-off home run
In an almost Royce Lewis-esqe moment, Wallner stepped to the plate in the ninth inning and blasted a walk-off home run to give the Twins the win and a series sweep of the Diamondbacks.
Usually it’s Twins radio announcer Cory Provus who turns in the epic calls of moments like this, but Bally Sports North announcer Dick Bremer owned it instead. Bremer capped off a weekend where he emceed Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame ceremony by turning in an awesome call of another Minnesota native’s special moment.
MATT WALLNER WALKOFF BOMB pic.twitter.com/3Xa7kvJuN5
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 6, 2023
It harkens back to when Lewis was essentially single-handedly responsible for a few wins after he was called up ahead of a series against Houston earlier in the season. Wallner is yet another top prospect that Minnesota has high hopes for, and someone who has displayed a big bat on an offense that has been lacking power all season.
The win over Arizona, and the euphoria of Wallner’s walk-off, felt like those wins over Houston and like the type of victories this Twins team is more than capable of pulling off.
With the win on Sunday, Minnesota has now moved 4.5 games ahead of Cleveland for the AL Central lead. After the brawl involving Jose Ramirez and Tim Anderson on Saturday, it feels like the Twins are now in a perfect position to finally start running away with the division.
Of course, Twins fans have been lulled into a false sense of security before only to get burned by an anemic offense. Here’s to hoping Wallner’s walk-off did a little bit bigger than simply sparking an epic victory.