DYERSVILLE, Iowa — A day spent creating memories they’ll remember forever turned into a night that perhaps the Twins would like to forget. After flying to nearby Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday morning, the Twins bussed over to the “Field of Dreams,” movie site, where they spent time pregame wandering the cornfields, chatting with baseball legends and having a catch — manager Derek Shelton with his dad, center fielder Byron Buxton with his oldest son — just as the movie’s main character, Ray Kinsella, did with his own father in the film’s closing scene. On this picturesque Iowa farmland, on beautiful night, in a place with filled with baseball nostalgia, with 26 hall of famers gathered, everything seemed to be perfect. And then the game started. The third pitch out of Taj Bradley’s hand landed among the corn stalks in right field, the first of three Phillies home runs in a 7-1 win over the Twins in Major League Baseball’s third installment of the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa. Kyle Schwarber’s first-inning home run was one of two for him on the night, both off Bradley. The second, which came as part of a three-run fourth inning, ticked off the glove of Luke Keaschall, who nearly robbed him, and landed over the right field wall. Keaschall provided the only run for the Twins on the night, sending his seventh home run of the season out to left field, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 2-1 in the second inning. But the Twins could come no closer. The Phillies scored three more runs off Bradley in the fourth inning — two on Schwarber’s second home run — and the Twins were unable to do anything with their best opportunity of the night off of Phillies starter Aaron Nola in the fifth inning. Buxton, back from the injured list on Thursday, hit a two-out double to get himself into scoring position and back-to-back walks brought the tying run up to the plate. With a chance to etch his name into baseball lore, Royce Lewis swung aggressively at Nola’s first offering, a knuckle curve. He looked at strike two before taking another big hack at strike three, chasing a low pitch and nearly ending up on one knee. The Twins, who will pick back up against the Phillies on Saturday at Target Field, finished the game 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine on base. Related Articles
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