The Twins beat the Marlins 2-1 on July 3, 2025, after a bizarre umpire interference play saved a run. Simeon Woods Richardson starred on the mound.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
You can't make this stuff up. In a game the Minnesota Twins desperately needed to win, their biggest assist didn't come from a diving catch or a clutch hit, but from the chest protector of umpire Emil Jimenez. A bizarre sixth-inning play involving a rarely-cited MLB rule saved a crucial run, and the Twins' bullpen made it stand up in a nail-biting 2-1 victory over the red-hot Miami Marlins, snapping both Minnesota's losing streak and Miami's winning streak in one fell swoop.
Brooks Lee's sacrifice fly ended the Twins' agonizing 18-inning scoreless streak.
Baseball is a game of inches, and sometimes, those inches are between the bat, the ball, and the umpire. With the Twins clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth, the Marlins' Kyle Stowers laced a line drive that glanced off umpire Emil Jimenez. Under MLB rule 5.06(c)(6), the ball was immediately dead, preventing the tying run from scoring from third. The play, protested by Miami but correctly upheld, was the turning point. It was a lucky break, no doubt, but after a tough three-game slide, it was a break the Twins gladly took.
While the umpire's bounce will get the headlines, the victory was secured by dominant pitching. Simeon Woods Richardson was brilliant, delivering five strong innings while allowing just one run on two hits. He set the tone, and the bullpen slammed the door. The relief corps combined for four scoreless, hitless innings, culminating in Jhoan Duran locking down his 13th save of the season with a powerful ninth. It was a masterful performance from a group that needed to be perfect.
The offense wasn't explosive, but it did just enough. After 18 scoreless innings, the bats finally broke through. Brooks Lee's sacrifice fly in the fifth felt like a massive weight being lifted, and Carlos Correa followed with a go-ahead RBI single. The true offensive star was Willi Castro, who went 3-for-4 and scored the go-ahead run. It's a small step, but a crucial one for a lineup that has been searching for any spark.
The win came amidst more roster shuffling. The team placed starter Bailey Ober on the 15-day IL with a left hip impingement, a blow to the rotation's stability. Lefty Kody Funderburk was recalled from St. Paul to add a fresh arm to the bullpen. This move comes just days after the much-anticipated activation of Royce Lewis, who is now tasked with helping to power an offense that needs his presence more than ever.
It wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't conventional, but a win is a win. Snapping their own losing streak while ending Miami's eight-game heater provides a massive morale boost heading into the Fourth of July weekend. Now, the challenge is to build on this momentum, get the bats fully woken up, and prove this wasn't just a one-off, rulebook-aided victory. Let's see if they can take the series tomorrow.
