Trevor Larnach belted a two-run home run and the Minnesota Twins held on for a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Larnach’s blast marked the only extra-base hit for Minnesota, but that proved to be enough as the Twins took the series opener. Byron Buxton finished 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled in a run and Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz went 2-for-4 to lead Pittsburgh.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (9-4) allowed one run on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (4-8) sustained another hard-luck loss after giving up two runs on five hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out six.
Twins closer Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his 15th save.
The Pirates opened the scoring with one run in the top of the fourth. Kiner-Falefa ripped a double into the gap between center and right field to drive in Horwitz from first base.
The double snapped a long drought between extra-base hits for Kiner-Falefa. His most recent extra-base hit came on June 23 when he tripled against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Twins responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to grab a 2-1 lead.
Buxton reached on a leadoff infield single, which marked the Twins’ first hit against Skenes. Buxton advanced to second on a groundout by Willi Castro, and then Trevor Larnach brought him home with a two-run homer to right-center field.
The 399-foot blast marked Larnach’s 13th homer of the season. It was only the sixth home run allowed by Skenes in 20 starts.
Pittsburgh tried to mount a comeback against Duran in the ninth. Horwitz muscled an opposite-field single to left and swiped second with one out.
Duran settled in to preserve the Twins’ victory. He struck out Adam Frazier for the second out, and he fanned Kiner-Falefa on a 100-mph splitter to end the game.
–Field Level Media
