Bohm, De La Cruz Erase 5-Run Hole, PHI Stuns MIN 7-5

Philadelphia trailed 5-0 through five innings and still walked out of Minnesota with a 7-5 win on August 16. Alec Bohm went 2-4 with a homer and 4 RBI, and Bryan De La Cruz delivered the decisive blow with a two-run single in the eighth that swung the win probability from 51% in Minnesota's favor to just 16%.

Minnesota looked like it had this one locked up early. Brooks Lee's grand slam to right in the first — 353 feet, four runs, game seemingly in hand — set the tone, and Kody Clemens added a solo shot to right in the third (400 feet) to push the lead to 5-0. Andrew Painter was leaking badly, allowing 5 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings, and the Twins' bullpen appeared to have a comfortable runway. The story of the first half of this game was Minnesota's offense doing exactly what it needed to do against a struggling starter.

Then the sixth inning happened, and it happened fast. A Luis Arraez groundout scored a run to make it 5-1, but that was just the appetizer. Bohm followed with a 408-foot home run to left that plated Stott and Harper, suddenly making it a 5-4 game. What looked like a comfortable Minnesota win had turned into a one-run nail-biter, and it appears Bohm's swing was the moment the entire complexion of the game shifted. Dean Kremer had held Philadelphia scoreless for five frames before the sixth unraveled; he was pulled at 5.1 innings, having allowed 4 earned runs on 5 hits.

The eighth inning is where Philadelphia finished the job — and where Minnesota's defense handed it to them. Bohm singled to right, Harper scored on a fielding error by first baseman Lewis, and suddenly the game was tied at 5. Two runners were in scoring position with the damage still unfolding. Then De La Cruz singled to right, scoring Bohm and Hill to make it 7-5 — the play that swung Minnesota's win probability from 51% all the way down to 16%, a 35-point collapse on a single swing. Jhoan Duran and Tim Mayza each threw a scoreless inning in relief for Philadelphia, combining for 5 strikeouts and zero earned runs to close it out. The story of the night was a Philadelphia lineup that refused to concede a five-run deficit and a Minnesota defense that, at the worst possible moment, gave the game away.