The Pittsburgh Pirates picked up a series-opening win against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday and tried to follow it up with a series winning win on Wednesday night, but a decisive Josh Willingham home run left them on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision.
The Twins jumped out to an early lead at the top of the first inning when Trevor Plouffe knocked in Josh Willingham on a single to to the gap in right field.
Both teams struggled to pick up runs through the next few innings, but the Bucs finally stopped the drought in the bottom of the seventh inning when Rod Barajas knocked in Pedro Alvarez on a pinch hit sacrifice fly to tie the game. The Twins were able to take the lead in the eighth inning, however, on a Josh Willingham solo home run as the Pirates go down to the Twins 2-1.
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