WASHINGTON — So where do the Minnesota Twins go from here?
Physically, the Twins will head home to begin a series with the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
And mentally? That may be another story. The standings will show that Minnesota is 5-14 overall even though the Twins had won five of their last 10 games going into Sunday’s series finale at Washington.
But the Twins gave up the lead twice late in the game and lost, 6-5, as Chris Heisey hit a walkoff homer in the last of the 16th against Michael Tonkin.
“To not be able to come out on top is frustrating,” Tonkin said.
The Nationals tied the game at 5-5 in the 15th when a relief pitcher — Oliver Perez — put down a surprise bunt with two outs. Twins catcher John Ryan Murphy threw the ball away and Danny Espinosa came in to score the tying run.
Twins manager Paul Molitor said he had no problem with Murphy being aggressive and not waiting to see if the ball rolled foul.
“If he makes the play the game is over,” Molitor said. “He was trying to end the game.”
The day already began on the wrong note when Ervin Santana was not able to pitch due to a sore lower back. Tyler Duffey was called up from Triple-A Rochester to start, then he had to leave the game in the fifth inning when he was hit with a line drive off the bat of Matt den Dekker.
“I was confident in what I was doing,” said Duffey, who said he was sorry to let down the bullpen on what turned out to be a long day. “It was a tough day. You are on the edge of your seat.”
Ironically, Duffey said he started for Rochester earlier this month on the anniversary of the 33-inning game played in Rochester in 1981 against Pawtucket. That game began on April 18, 1981, went into the morning of April 19 and then was finished in June of 1981.
At least for the Twins, they did not lose in 33 innings on Sunday. And the game didn’t span parts of two calendar days.