TWINS TAKE THE SERIES
Clutch hitting eludes Astros as they drop series to Twins
Jun 3, 2024, 9:46 am
TWINS TAKE THE SERIES
Jose Miranda hit a solo homer in the sixth inning and a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth, helping the Minnesota Twins top the Houston Astros 4-3 on Sunday.
“He’s really done so many different things in the lineup for us,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He just plays. He doesn’t get distracted, he doesn’t get caught up in any anything. He’s just ready to play baseball and he’s done a nice job.”
Trevor Larnach also went deep for Minnesota, which took two of three in the weekend series. Steven Okert (2-0) got two outs for the win, and Jhoan Duran handled the ninth for his 10th save.
Miranda's sixth homer of the season — a one-out drive to left-center off Hunter Brown — tied it at 3.
Larnach reached on a leadoff walk in the eighth against Ryan Pressly (0-3). Pinch-runner Manuel Margot moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Jeffers and scored on Miranda's grounder down the third base line.
Larnach got Minnesota an early lead when he homered on Brown's fourth pitch of the game. The leadoff drive was Larnach's sixth homer this season.
Alex Bregman and Victor Caratini went deep for Houston, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Bregman’s fourth homer in five games — a two-run shot in the third — gave the Astros a 3-2 lead.
Houston had a shot to take the lead in the seventh. José Abreu walked with one out before a bunt single by Chas McCormick chased Jorge Alcalá.
He was replaced by Okert, and Bregman singled on a grounder to left with two down. But the Astros came up empty when Yordan Alvarez flied out.
Brown struck out seven in six innings. He permitted three runs and five hits.
“Hunter did a phenomenal job,” manager Joe Espada said. “He was really, really good, gave us a chance to win. We just couldn’t do enough to pull off that win.”
Minnesota’s Simeon Woods Richardson, who grew up in suburban Houston, allowed three hits and three runs with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two homers Sunday after giving up just two in his previous eight starts this season.
The right-hander said it was a dream come true to pitch in a ballpark where he watched so many games growing up as an Astros fan. He also said he had too many friends and family at the game to count.
“But once we step on the field, it’s competitive nature and I can flip the switch easy,” he said. “It’s one thing watching, being a fan, but once you’re competing it’s a different ballgame.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: 3B Royce Lewis (severe quadriceps strain) is scheduled to complete a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday and should come off the injured list Tuesday. Lewis, who has been out since he was injured on opening day, has been with St. Paul since May 25.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Bailey Ober (5-3, 4.89 ERA) starts the opener of a series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (3-2, 3.26 ERA) opposes St. Louis RHP Kyle Gibson (4-2, 3.60 ERA) in the first of three games with the Cardinals on Monday night.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!