Jose Miranda clubbed a game-tying home run in the sixth inning before producing a go-ahead, run-scoring double in the top of the eighth as the visiting Minnesota Twins topped the Houston Astros 4-3 on Sunday to claim the rubber match of this three-game weekend series.
Minnesota improved to 9-3 in its last 12 games.
Miranda finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. His sixth home run, a solo shot to left-center field, knotted the score at 3-3 after the Twins coughed up a two-run lead. Miranda delivered again with one out in the eighth, stroking an RBI double that plated Manuel Margot, who pinch-ran for Trevor Larnach after Larnach worked a leadoff walk against Astros reliever Ryan Pressly (0-3).
Larnach spotted the Twins a 1-0 lead with his sixth homer leading off the first against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. Minnesota doubled that margin an inning later when Alex Kiriloff followed a one-out single by Willi Castro with a double to right that enabled Castro to score from first.
Brown settled down immediately after that. He retired nine consecutive batters before Carlos Santana singled with one out in the fifth but was erased trying to stretch that hit into a double. Brown struck out Larnach to cap the fifth but surrendered a 3-2 lead when Miranda homered.
Brown allowed three runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over six solid innings.
The Astros used a pair of homers to erase that early 2-0 deficit. Victor Caratini blasted a solo shot, his fourth, to right-center with two outs in the second off Twins rookie right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson that shaved the deficit to one run. An inning later, Alex Bregman smacked his eighth homer, a two-run blast to left-center that scored Kyle Tucker and provided a 3-2 lead.
Woods Richardson surrendered three runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.
The Minnesota bullpen was exceptional in stifling the Astros. Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala and Steven Okert combined to allow four baserunners over 2 2/3 innings. Okert (2-0) recorded the pivotal out, retiring Yordan Alvarez on a fly ball to left with the bases loaded to cap the seventh.
Twins closer Jhoan Duran notched his 10th save by retiring the side in order in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
