The game turned on one swing in the eighth inning. Brooks Lee's solo home run to right field gave Minnesota a 9-8 victory over St. Louis, ending a thriller that saw the lead change hands four times.
Byron Buxton carried the Twins offense with a perfect 3-for-3 night, adding a walk and scoring three runs. His home run in the first inning answered Alec Burleson's opening blast, setting the tone for a game that would see 17 runs scored. Kody Clemens provided the most dramatic moment before Lee's winner, launching a three-run homer in the seventh that tied the game 7-7 after St. Louis had taken a three-run lead.
The decisive sequence began in the eighth when Royce Lewis tied the game 8-8 with a solo home run to left. Lee followed with his season's 11th homer, a 382-foot shot that proved to be the winner. Earlier, Jordan Walker's double in the seventh had given the Cardinals a 7-4 advantage, scoring three runs to seemingly put the game away.
Ryne Stanek suffered his first loss of the season, allowing three runs in 1.1 innings of relief. Anthony Banda earned the win for Minnesota with two-thirds of an inning of scoreless work. Joe Ryan pitched six innings for the Twins, allowing three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts.
Minnesota snapped a one-game losing streak to improve to 31-39. St. Louis fell to 37-29 after the defeat. Buxton now sits 10 doubles away from 200 career doubles.