*Photo from the Minneapolis Star Tribune*
Ever since Kenta Maeda was traded to the Twins and had a chance to become a full time starter, he has seized the opportunity. Maeda threw 8 no hit innings, Byron Buxton scored the walkoff run, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers in 12 innings by a 4-3 score. Maeda's no hit bid ended with an Eric Sogard leadoff single in the 9th inning.
The game was scoreless until the 5th inning, when Miguel Sano hit an RBI double to left field to make it 1-0 Twins. It stayed that way until the 7th inning, when Jorge Polanco hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. The Twins made it 3-0 in the 8th on an Ehire Adrianza infield single. In the 9th, the Brewers came back and tied the game at 3 on a Keston Hiura RBI single, a Jedd Gyorko groundout, and a throwing error. It was knotted at 3 until the 12th, when Buxton scored on a ground ball from Polanco to walkoff the Brewers.
Maeda went from no-hitter to no-decision pretty fast in this game, despite his spectacular performance. Maeda threw 8+ innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, striking out 12 hitters. The run scored after Maeda left the game. Taylor Rogers gave up the other two runs to blow the save for the Twins. Manager Rocco Baldelli said of Maeda's performance postgame that ''He was in total control. He's showing us all of the different dimensions to what he can do out on the mound, even for people who are in baseball, to watch a performance like that does put you a little bit in awe.''
David Phelps took the loss for the Brewers, throwing 1 1/3 innings at the end of the game. The grounder that scored Buxton rolled under Phelps's glove, which allowed Buxton to score. Manager Craig Counsell said postgame that ''I still think on a regular ground ball we have a chance to throw him out."
Maeda had a chance to throw the first no hitter in the Twins organization since Francisco Liriano in 2011. Maeda had retired 21 straight batters in this game, before Sogard's single in the 9th. Included in that stretch was 8 straight strikeouts, two shy of the major league record owned by Tom Seaver of the New York Mets. Maeda didn't realize that during the game, saying postgame that ''I wasn't aware of eight. Had I known I would've gone for the ninth."
The series continues Wednesday night, where the Brewers will look to rebound with Brett Anderson taking the mound. Minnesota looks to continue their winning ways with Rich Hill taking the mound.
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