Pirates Too Much for Twins, Vikes Fall to Titans

The Minnesota Twins blew their lead and let the Pirates run away late in game two, while the Vikings dropped their second preseason game on Saturday. On Sunday, the Lynx will have the chance to earn their second sweep of the season in front of a home crowd.

RECAPS:

- The Twins let game two slip away late, falling 7-4 to Pittsburgh at home Saturday. Minnesota got on the board first with an RBI double from Max Kepler in the opening inning. That lead stood until the bottom of the fifth when Michael A. Taylor hit an RBI single to extend it to 2-0. The Pirates finally found some answers in the top of the sixth, erasing Minnesota's lead 3-2 with three RBIs on two singles. Pittsburgh grew their lead to 4-2 in the seventh, before Jorge Polanco cut the deficit back to 4-3 for the Twins. The Pirates put it out of reach 7-3 in the top of the ninth with a three-run homer from Andrew McCutchen. Minnesota tried to rally with an RBI single from Polanco in the bottom portion of the inning but came up short. Sonny Gray led things off on the mound for the Twins, striking out seven batters and allowing for runs on four hits in the first six and two-thirds innings. Minnesota's bullpen combined for two strikeouts and three runs on four hits. The Twins fall to 64-60 and the Pirates improve to 55-68. Both teams will be looking for the series win when they take the field for game three on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. at Target Field.

- The Vikings fell to Tennessee 24-16 at home in their second preseason game Saturday night. Nick Mullens completed 13 of 23 passes for 151 yards and Jaren Hall completed four of seven for 49 yards. Returning kicker Greg Joseph was three-for-three on field goal attempts, scoring nine of the team's points. Ty Chandler led the ground corp with 11 carries for 24 yards, while DeWayne McBride had six carries for 18 yards and Minnesota's only touchdown of the day. The Vikings are now 0-2 in the preseason and will have one more chance to shake off the rust when they host the Arizona Cardinals next Saturday at noon.

PREVIEWS:

- The Lynx (15-16) will look to complete the season sweep when they host Seattle (9-22) Sunday. Minnesota is 0-3 against the Storm this season with 104-93 and 99-97 victories in June and a 78-70 win on Friday. So far this season, the Lynx have only swept one team, the Los Angeles Sparks. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at Target Center.