Colabello leads Twins past Rays

Published 9:56 am Thursday, April 24, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Colabello drove in four runs and two of them came on a 12th-inning single that lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Colabello’s game-winning hit came off Josh Lueke (0-1) after hits by Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe.

Casey Fien (1-0) got the win and Glen Perkins pitched the 12th inning for his fourth save.

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Colabello drove in Minnesota’s first two runs with a fourth-inning home run off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi, his third homer of the season and his second in two nights.

The four RBIs gave the Twins designated hitter a league-leading 26 for the season and tied the franchise record for RBIs in April that Kirby Puckett set in 1994.

The Twins tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Eduardo Escobar and Sam Fuld’s single to right.

Desmond Jennings had three hits, stole two bases and scored twice for the Rays.

Matt Joyce drove in the Rays’ first two runs with a ground ball in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third off Twins starter Mike Pelfrey.

Pelfrey, winless in four starts, gave up six hits, three walks and three earned runs in five innings.

Odorizzi pitched 3 1-3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and striking out five, all consecutively. He gave up hits or walks to five straight Twins in the fourth, and left after Edwards’ sacrifice.

Brandon Gomes, the first of six Tampa Bay relievers, gave up the RBI single to Fuld that gave Minnesota a 4-2 lead, but the Twins didn’t get another hit until Chris Herrmann’s two-out single in the eighth.

Fuld, playing in his first game with the Twins, had two hits.

Anthony Swarzak and Fien each pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings of relief for the Twins.

NOTES: Fuld, who played the last three seasons with the Rays, got a warm ovation when he came up to bat in the third inning. … Twins RHP Matt Guerrier, coming back from right elbow surgery, has been promoted to Triple-A Rochester from Double-A New Britain. … Minnesota OF Oswaldo Arcia, on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right wrist, could start a minor league rehab assignment next week. … Minnesota RHP Ricky Nolasco (1-2) and Tampa Bay LHP Erik Bedard (0-0) are Thursday’s scheduled starters.