Gimenez's walk-off single beats Cards in 10
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Second baseman Kolten Wong helped the Cardinals with both his bat and his glove, but the Twins rallied late for a 2-1 win after a pair of errors with two outs in the ninth. Minnesota was buoyed by a game-tying RBI single from Ehire Adrianza, and a walk-off RBI single from Chris Gimenez in the 10th on Monday at Hammond Stadium
Wong put the Cardinals on the board with his two-out RBI single to right-center in the third off Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was otherwise solid over four innings. Wong's big defensive play came in the fifth, when the Twins had runners at first and second, and Max Kepler smashed a rocket at Wong, who was able to make the play and throw to second to help the Cardinals out of the jam.
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The Cardinals had the chance to put the game away twice in the ninth, but errors by second baseman Eliezer Álvarez and shortstop Edmundo Sosa kept the Twins alive. Adrianza tied the game with a single to right, and after a scoreless 10th from Fernando Romero, Gimenez was the hero with his two-out walk-off single to center.
"He's grinding away trying to make an impression here," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It was good. He made a nice adjustment there. He stayed on it."
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The Twins also loaded the bases with one out in the third, keyed by a bunt single from Byron Buxton, but Cardinals reliever Jake Woodford got out of the jam by getting Miguel Sanó and Max Kepler to pop up.
Buxton made a defensive highlight in the third with a diving catch in center to rob Chad Huffman of a hit. It helped Gibson, who allowed one run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
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"He's awesome out there," Gibson said of Buxton. "He tracks everything down. I think in my first outing he apologized for not catch[ing] a double at the wall. He expects to make every play. He knows his skill and how fast he is and he knows how to use it."
Former Twins outfielder Jordan Schafer pitched against his former team, working around a single and a walk to toss a scoreless fourth. Right-hander John Gant started for St. Louis, throwing two scoreless innings with one strikeout.
Twins reliever Brandon Kintzler, expected to be Minnesota's closer to open the season with Glen Perkins coming off labrum surgery, threw a scoreless fifth inning.
Cardinals Up Next: The Cardinals host the Nationals on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. ET, in a game available on MLB.TV.Adam Wainwright is scheduled to make his second Grapefruit League start, followed by Jonathan Broxton, Miguel Socolovich, Arturo Reyes, Josh Lucas and Jack Flaherty.
Twins Up Next: The Twins have an off-day on Tuesday before hosting Team USA on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. CT at Hammond Stadium. Right-hander Trevor May, competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, is scheduled to start for the Twins. Other pitchers scheduled to see action are Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Belisle, Ryan Pressly and Craig Breslow.
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