MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins surged to victory against the Houston Astros with a 6-1 win on Saturday afternoon, driven by a powerful three-run homer from Jose Miranda during a pivotal fourth inning.
Initially unable to register any hits against Houston’s pitcher, Spencer Arighetti, the Twins found their rhythm in the fourth. Jose Miranda, facing two outs and two strikes, sent a curveball soaring into the left-field seats, bringing the Twins ahead with a 4-1 lead. The inning, which saw ten players step up to the plate, was further boosted by Matt Wallner’s RBI double and was plagued by two costly errors and Arighetti’s lack of control.
The Twins, who had earlier struggled with scoring, managing only six runs over their first four losses, finally eclipsed that figure in this game.
Bailey Ober, the Twins’ starting pitcher, made a significant recovery after a difficult opening start against St. Louis. Despite allowing a leadoff home run to Jose Altuve, Ober settled in to throw four solid innings, giving up nothing more. In a sharp contrast to his prior performance where he conceded eight hits and runs in just over two innings to the Cardinals, Ober displayed resilience and command.
In the sixth inning, Cole Sands took the mound for Minnesota, securing the victory with two strikeouts in a flawless inning. He led a team of five relievers who together tallied eight strikeouts without issuing a single walk over five scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, Jose Altuve, who had a tough day at the plate on Thursday with five strikeouts, rebounded with three hits during the game.
A crucial moment in the fourth inning saw Byron Buxton get hit on the hand by a 92 mph fastball from Arighetti, leading to his successful steal of second base. Buxton later scored after Ty France delivered a single, taking advantage of a fumble by Altuve, which ended the Twins’ 11-inning scoreless drought.
Notably, after not drawing any walks in the previous two games—a first since mid-September last year—the Twins’ hitters managed to earn four walks alongside a hit-by-pitch in this game.
Looking ahead, Houston plans to start right-hander Ronel Blanco, who currently has a 5.40 ERA, in Sunday’s series finale. The Twins will respond with right-hander Chris Paddack, carrying a 24.30 ERA.