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Jason Kubel's two-out popup hit a
catwalk high above Tropicana Field and fell near the pitcher's
mound for a go-ahead single in the ninth inning, a true dome run
that sent the Minnesota Twins past the Tampa Bay Rays 8-6 Thursday.

      After the Rays scored six times in the eighth, capped by
pinch-hitter Jason Barlett's grand slam that made it 6-all, the
Twins rallied in most unusual fashion.

      Minnesota put runners at the corners and Kubel lofted his pop.
Tampa Bay second baseman Reid Brignac got in position to catch the
ball on the back of the infield dirt, but it struck the highest
metal catwalk - about 190 feet over the field - and changed
direction.

      No Rays fielder could recover in time to catch the ball before
it landed 15 feet behind the mound.

      By rule, the ball was in play and there were no arguments or
discussions. Dozens off balls have hit the four catwalks since the
ballpark opened in 1998, but only once before had one struck the
highest "A" ring - Carlos Pena did it against the Twins on May
31, 2009.

      The odd ball that fell fair helped drop the Rays out of a
first-place tie with the idle New York Yankees in the AL East.
Tampa Bay has lost only three times in its last 13 games, including
a 13-inning, 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night.

      This win kept the Twins, who used all sorts of odd bounces to
win during nearly three decades at the old Metrodome, close to AL
Central-leading Chicago. Minnesota is 15-6 since the All-Star
break.

      Michael Cuddyer added a more conventional RBI single off Joaquin
Benoit (0-1) later in the Twins' ninth.

      Matt Capps (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win.

      Twins starter Kevin Slowey was dominant through seven innings,
shutting out the Rays on two singles, before the eighth.

      B.J. Upton hit a leadoff homer that made it 6-1 and Slowey
departed with two outs and the bases loaded only to see the
Minnesota bullpen implode. After Jesse Crain walked Willy Aybar to
force in a run, Ron Mahay entered and gave up Bartlett's game-tying
shot.


      Slowey didn't allow a baserunner until Sean Rodriguez opened the
fourth with a single.

      Tampa Bay's Wade Davis gave up six runs and 10 hits over six
innings. The Rays rookie had won his previous four starts.

      Joe Mauer and Delmon Young had RBI doubles, while Jason Kubel
and J.J. Hardy both drove in a run with singles off Davis as the
Twins took a 4-0 lead in the first. Mauer has 17 hits in his last
30 at-bats since July 26.

      Davis retired 10 in a row after Hardy's hit before giving up a
solo shot to Jason Repko in the fifth that made it 5-0. The Twins
went ahead 6-0 on Drew Butera's RBI double in the sixth.

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Minnesota Twins

Jason Kubel's two-out popup hit a
catwalk high above Tropicana Field and fell near the pitcher's
mound for a go-ahead single in the ninth inning, a true dome run
that sent the Minnesota Twins past the Tampa Bay Rays 8-6 Thursday.


Kubel's go-ahead single pushes Twins to 8-6 win over Rays

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