Twins Top Pirates, Lynx Beat Seattle, Rox Drop Title Game

The Minnesota Twins got back in the win column with a solid takedown of Pittsburgh at Target Field on Friday, and the Lynx beat the Storm in Seattle, while the St. Cloud Rox came up just short of winning the Northwoods League title. On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings will take the field at U.S. Bank Stadium for their second preseason matchup.

RECAPS:

- The Twins beat Pittsburgh 5-1 at home on Friday to kick off the weekend series. Neither team scored in the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Michael A. Taylor put Minnesota on the board with a two-run homer. The Twins extended their lead to 3-0 in the sixth with an RBI single from Donovan Solano. In the top of the seventh, the Pirates scored their first and only run of the day to avoid the shutout. Minnesota locked up the win in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Jorge Polanco and an RBI double from Kyle Farmer. Pablo Lopez fanned seven batters and gave up no runs on six hits through the first six innings. The Twins improve to 64-59 and will host the Pirates (54-68) in game two on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.

- The Lynx beat Seattle for the third time this season 78-70 on the road Friday. Minnesota outscored the Storm in the first three quarters and built up a 64-50 lead in that time. The Lynx surrendered 20 points to Seattle in the final frame but held on for the win. Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 24 points, while Kayla McBride added 21, and Tiffany Mitchell finished with 14. The Lynx improve to 15-16 and will close out the season series against the Storm (9-22) at Target Center on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.

- The Rox lost the title game 4-3 to Green Bay on Friday. It was St. Cloud's fourth trip to the championship since 2012. After two scoreless innings, the Rockers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third and extended that lead to 2-0 in the fourth. in the sixth, Green Bay added two more runs and looked like they were going to run away with the game. St. Cloud got on the board in the bottom of the seventh to close the gap to 4-2. The Rox sent one more runner home in the ninth, but their rally fell just short. Anthony Mata, Oscar Serratos Jr., and Noah Blythe each crossed home plate once for the Rox. Evan Esch struck out just one batter and allowed two runs on three hits in the first three and one-third innings. Mason Olson took over on the mound for St. Cloud and finished with seven strikeouts, and two runs on five hits in the remainder of the game. The Rox end the season with a second-place finish after earning a 43-25 record in the regular season, beating Willmar in two games in the subdivisional round, and beating La Crosse in the divisional championship.

PREVIEWS:

- The Vikings will host the Titans on Saturday night. Both teams are 0-1 in the preseason. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.