Minneapolis, MN – Ben Revere went 4-for-6 with two runs scored as the Philadelphia Phillies used a two-run eighth inning to beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, in the finale of a three-game series.
Ryan Howard went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Phillies, who snapped a five-game skid. Jimmy Rollins and Michael Young each knocked in a run.
Philadelphia starter Cliff Lee (8-2) allowed two runs on three hits while striking out six over seven innings. He improved to 9-4 lifetime against Minnesota.
Justin Morneau had a two-run double for the Twins, who had won each of the first two games in this series by one run.
Minnesota starter Kevin Correia gave up one run on eight hits while striking out six over five innings. Jared Burton (0-4) allowed both runs in the eighth to take the loss.
"I don't think he was rusty, I just think it was bad luck," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.
After the Twins took a 2-1 lead in the seventh, the Phillies responded with two runs of their own in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen led off with a double down the right-field line, moved to third on Revere's bunt single and raced home on Young's base hit to right. Philadelphia went on to leave the bases loaded later in the inning, but not before Revere gave it a 3-2 edge by beating the throw home on Rollins' chopper down the first-base line.
"Us putting two across was huge," said Lee. "Regaining the lead was real big. All game it seemed like we got a ton of hits and somehow never scored, but we scored when we needed to."
Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, to secure the victory. Papelbon picked up his 12th save of the season.
The Phillies got on the board in the first. Revere led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third when Rollins reached first on Correia's fielding error. Howard followed with a single to right to plate Revere.
Lee, who retired the first 10 batters he faced, gave up a one-out single to Joe Mauer in the fourth, but got Ryan Doumit to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Philadelphia, which left the bases loaded in the fifth, had a runner thrown out at the plate in the sixth. With two outs, Young, Rollins and Howard hit three straight singles. Young, however, was thrown out while trying to score on Howard's base hit to right.
The Phillies' inability to score with runners in scoring position left the door open for the Twins, who scored two runs in the seventh. Mauer walked and Doumit singled to put men on first and second with one out. Two batters later, Morneau cleared the bases with a double past a diving Revere in left-center field.
Game Notes
Philadelphia recalled pitcher Jake Diekman and infielder Michael Martinez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and optioned second baseman Cesar Hernandez and pitcher Tyler Cloyd to Lehigh Valley ... The Phillies went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16 ... Philadelphia had 16 hits, compared to three for the Twins.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.