Walk this way: Parmelee hits confidence-building game-winning homer
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Parmelee has had a bit of a tumultuous career with the Twins. His tenure in Minnesota was exemplified by the way his 2014 season started.
Fighting for a roster spot out in spring training, Parmelee instead cleared waivers and began the year in Triple-A Rochester. A hot month of April earned him a call-up to the Twins for another shot in the majors.
Given what the former first-round pick has gone through in the past month and a half made Parmelee's walk-off home run Tuesday even sweeter. The Twins right fielder sent a two-run shot to the seats in right field against Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller to give Minnesota an 8-6 walk-off win at Target Field.
"When you get that late in a game, it doesn't matter who does it, but I'm glad for Parm," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He's worked really hard, got sent down, frustrated out of spring training. Cleared waivers, which is disappointing for a player, and worked really hard down there and got back up here by playing his way back up, which you're supposed to do."
Tuesday was just Parmelee's fourth game of the season with the Twins. In 32 games with Rochester, Parmelee was the Red Wings' hottest hitter. He hit .305 with seven home runs and 23 RBI to earn his call-up to the majors.
However, Parmelee has hit well in Triple-A before yet failed to carry that consistency at the plate with him to the big leagues. His game-winner Tuesday doesn't equate to a season's worth of success, but it could go a long way in getting his bat on track during his latest stint in the majors.
"It's huge. It's kind of one of those things where it's a confidence builder going into the season," Parmelee said.
Parmelee came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the game knotted at six. Despite the Twins leading 6-2 at one point in Tuesday's game, Boston rallied with a three-run seventh inning to tie it at 6. Closer Glen Perkins pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to bring up the heart of Minnesota's order with a chance to win it.
After Trevor Plouffe and pinch hitter Chris Colabello struck out swinging for two quick outs, catcher Kurt Suzuki kept the inning alive with a base hit to left field. That brought Parmelee to the plate against the left-hander Miller.
Two pitches later, Parmelee provided the fourth walk-off home run in Target Field history when he hit an 0-1 fastball an estimated 355 feet to right field. He joined Jim Thome, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau on that short list of game-winning blasts at the Twins' five-year-old ballpark.
It wasn't the first walk-off of the season for Parmelee, though. He did the same thing with Rochester on April 27, hitting a 10th-inning home run to give the Red Wings a 3-2 win over Charlotte.
Tuesday's walk-off was a bit more rewarding, though.
"A lot better," Parmelee said.
Parmelee's late-game heroics helped him atone for a mistake in the outfield earlier in the game that ultimately cost Minnesota a run. Boston's Shane Victorino sent a sinking line drive to right field to lead off the sixth. Instead of letting the ball bounce in front of him for a single, Parmelee made a diving attempt to catch it and help Minnesota preserve its 6-2 lead.
Instead, the ball got by Parmelee and rolled to the wall for a triple. Victorino scored one batter later when David Ortiz drove in his third run of the game, cutting the Twins' lead to 6-3.
"I kind of take partial blame on that. That's kind of my run," Parmelee said. "If a defenseman can get a run, that one goes to me. That was my fault. . . . It actually just carried a little further than I thought. I thought it was going to die a lot sooner. It didn't."
With several Minnesota outfielders sidelined with injuries, Parmelee will likely get a chance to prove that he belongs at this level. He had a tough time doing that the past two seasons when he hit a combined .228 with 43 RBI in 165 games between 2012 and 2013.
After some more seasoning in the minors, Parmelee is back in the big leagues one again. And on Tuesday, he delivered the biggest hit in Minnesota's victory.
"It's ups and downs, but in the long run, you've got to keep grinding," Parmelee said. "People get sent up and sent down all the time. Anything can happen. You can't take anything for granted. You've got to keep working."
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