Jonathan Aranda’s three-run homer in the sixth inning pushed the Tampa Bay Rays to their majors-best sixth straight victory, beating the visiting Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Monday night.
Starting pitcher Zack Littell (4-5) was outstanding over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits, fanned four and did not issue a walk.
He won for the fourth time in the past six starts and is 3-0 in May.
Aranda finished 2-for-4 with the homer, three RBIs and two runs, and Danny Jansen stroked a two-run homer. Junior Caminero (double), Kameron Misner and Brandon Lowe had two hits apiece as the home side totaled 13.
Minnesota’s Carlos Correa popped a two-run homer, but the visitors produced just four singles after Correa’s deep shot and were only 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position.
Starter Chris Paddack (2-5) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five without a walk.
The Twins lost for just the fourth time in the past 20 games.
After Littell and his splitter started the game by retiring the first seven hitters, the Twins got it going in the third inning behind one-out singles by Christian Vazquez and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. However, the right-hander induced a comebacker by Ryan Jeffers, and Littell got out of the jam with a double play.
The red-hot Paddack, who came in 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA over his past three starts, was sharp as well with his changeup, allowing just a single to Lowe in the first three innings and staying out of trouble.
With two runners on and Paddack chased from the game in the sixth, reliever Brock Stewart got ahead 1-2 on Aranda and spun an 84 mph sweeper to the lefty-swinger that he belted 356 feet to right, his seventh long ball, for a 3-0 advantage.
Just like Stewart in the previous frame, reliever Garrett Cleavinger entered and immediately surrendered a 417-foot blast to Correa, whose fourth homer to deep left trimmed it to 3-2.
After Jose Caballero’s two-out, two-run double to left, Jansen homered to left for the final five-run margin.
–Field Level Media
