already used four of the seven players on his bench (Bush, Newman, Brown, and Sorrento). Then in the top half of the inning, he had inserted Scott Leius, normally a third baseman, into the game at shortstop in place of pinch hitter Sorrento. This left Kelly with backup catcher Junior Ortiz—a weak hitter whom he would need if the game continued and something happened to Harper and who he would often use as a late-game defensive replacement as he was a better defensive catcher than Harper—and utility man Gene Larkin, who was playing with an injured knee but had gotten one hit in three previous series plate appearances. Since he would not have needed to play him in the field, as he would have filled the designated hitter role if the game advanced beyond the tenth, Kelly decided to send Larkin to the plate. On the first pitch he saw, Larkin drove a single into deep left-center over the drawn-in outfield, scoring Gladden with the series-winning run and giving the Twins their second world championship since moving to Minnesota. Morris was the first player to embrace Gladden at the plate, followed by others. At the same time, Larkin was mobbed at first base. The two jubilant groups eventually merged in the middle of the diamond. The victorious players were soon joined by their families on the field, including Morris's two sons. Later, the Twins players did a victory lap around the perimeter of the Metrodome. For the first time since , a seventh game of the World Series ended 1–0. It was also the first World Series-deciding game to go into extra innings since Game 4 of the 1939 Series. This World Series was also the first to end with an extra-inning Game 7 since , when the home team, the Washington Senators (who became the Twins in 1961), won it in their last at-bat. The same thing happened in the 1997 World Series, when the Florida Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians in the 11th inning of Game 7. (Game 7 of the 2016 World Series also went to extra innings, when the visiting Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in 10 innings.) This game set a World Series record for the longest scoreless tie in Game 7. Only one other World Series game went longer without a run, Game 6 of the 1956 World Series, which went to two