Twins 8, Reds 5
CINCINNATI -- Torii Hunter collected three hits, including a home run, to spark the resurgent Minnesota Twins offense in an 8-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
The game was delayed two hours and 11 minutes largely due to an approaching storm that fizzled out before reaching the ballpark.
Shortly after the tarp was removed, right fielder Hunter started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, providing early run support for starter Phil Hughes, who allowed four runs (two earned) in 6 2/3 innings.
Left fielder Marlon Byrd and shortstop Eugenio Suarez each hit solo homers for Cincinnati (35-41), which has lost four of five.
Cincinnati starter Anthony DeSclafani, making his first career start against the Twins, battled command issues throughout his 6 2/3 innings, allowing six runs and 11 hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
DeSclafani (5-6) threw 122 pitches.
The Twins (41-36) broke the game open with a four-run seventh. Two runs scored on RBI singles by shortstop Eduardo Nunez and catcher Kurt Suzuki, both off right-hander Burke Badenhop.
Byrd started a Cincinnati rally with his 13th homer off Hughes leading off the seventh.
Hughes (7-6) threw 29 pitches in the seventh before running out of gas. Shortly thereafter, things unraveled a bit for the Twins.
A pair of errors, a wild pitch and RBI singles by second baseman Ivan De Jesus Jr. and first baseman Joey Votto contributed to a four-run inning for Cincinnati.
But, the Reds couldn't complete the rally as left-hander Glen Perkins notched his 25th save.
Following the long rain delay, Hunter launched DeSclafani's 2-2 pitch into the left-center-field stands, putting the Twins ahead 1-0 in the first. It was Hunter's 12th homer this season.
In the second, Nunez doubled and later scored from third when Votto threw wildly to the plate, making the score 2-0.
Hughes mostly cruised through the first four frames, aside from a 1-2 pitch to Suarez, which was crushed an estimated 414 feet for his second homer this season leading off the third.
First baseman Joe Mauer's fourth sacrifice fly this season made the score 3-1 in the fifth.
NOTES: There have been 15 rain delays this season at Great American Ball Park totaling 21 hours, 11 minutes with three postponements and one suspension. ... Reds 2B Brandon Phillips was out of the starting lineup again Tuesday with two sore hands. He took ground balls prior to the game to determine his status for Wednesday's series finale against the Twins. ... RHP Jose Berrios, the Twins' No. 4-ranked prospect, was promoted to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday. Berrios went 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings in Double-A. ... With one game remaining in June before Tuesday's game, the Twins were batting 35 points lower and scored 44 fewer runs in June than they did in May. ... The Reds-Tigers game that was rained out on June 18 will be made up on Monday, Aug. 24 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Great American Ball Park.