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The Minnesota Twins won Wednesday night’s rubber match at Daikin Park, beating the Houston Astros 8-3 behind homers from Josh Bell, Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall and an 11-strikeout night from starter Taj Bradley.
Bell opened the scoring in the first inning, driving a two-out, two-run shot off Houston starter Tatsuya Imai 452 feet to center field for his 11th home run of the season. The blast put Minnesota ahead 2-0 and stretched Bell’s road hitting streak to 16 games, a career high.
Houston answered in the bottom half when Jose Altuve scored on an Isaac Paredes double-play grounder. It was the only run Bradley would give up.
Clemens broke the game open in the second, connecting on a three-run homer that traveled 399 feet to right-center and made it 5-1. The homer was his 14th of the season, a total that through Wednesday ties Brooks Lee for second on the Twins behind Byron Buxton’s 25.
The early damage chased Imai after just 1 1/3 innings. Charged with five earned runs on four hits and five walks, the Houston starter needed 34 pitches to get through the first inning alone and fell to 5-4.
Bradley made sure the lead held up. From Christian Walker to end the first inning through the end of the fourth, all 10 outs he recorded came via strikeout, a run Nick Allen finally stopped with a bouncer in the fifth.
Bradley worked five innings in all, allowing just the one run on four hits and three walks while striking out 11 on 97 pitches. The 11 strikeouts tied a career high he has now matched four times, and the win pushed his season line to 7-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 102 strikeouts through 16 starts.
Trevor Larnach tacked on two more in the fifth with a two-run single that made it 7-1, part of a 3-for-5 night that included a double.
Houston’s only response after the first came in the sixth, when Joey Loperfido and Nick Allen delivered run-scoring singles off reliever Cody Laweryson. Neither run was earned, as Minnesota made two errors on the night.
Keaschall made it three home runs for the Twins in the eighth, sending a solo shot to left-center for his third of the season. Hitting in the No. 9 spot, he crossed the plate three times.
The victory also secured Minnesota a third straight series win away from home, something the club had not managed since May 2025. Wednesday’s win moved the Twins to 42-46, good for third in the AL Central and 4 1/2 games out of first place.
The Twins are off Thursday before opening a three-game set against the New York Yankees on Friday, July 3, where they will look to make it four consecutive road series wins.
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Bell opened the scoring in the first inning, driving a two-out, two-run shot off Houston starter Tatsuya Imai 452 feet to center field for his 11th home run of the season. The blast put Minnesota ahead 2-0 and stretched Bell’s road hitting streak to 16 games, a career high.
Houston answered in the bottom half when Jose Altuve scored on an Isaac Paredes double-play grounder. It was the only run Bradley would give up.
Clemens broke the game open in the second, connecting on a three-run homer that traveled 399 feet to right-center and made it 5-1. The homer was his 14th of the season, a total that through Wednesday ties Brooks Lee for second on the Twins behind Byron Buxton’s 25.
The early damage chased Imai after just 1 1/3 innings. Charged with five earned runs on four hits and five walks, the Houston starter needed 34 pitches to get through the first inning alone and fell to 5-4.
Bradley made sure the lead held up. From Christian Walker to end the first inning through the end of the fourth, all 10 outs he recorded came via strikeout, a run Nick Allen finally stopped with a bouncer in the fifth.
Bradley worked five innings in all, allowing just the one run on four hits and three walks while striking out 11 on 97 pitches. The 11 strikeouts tied a career high he has now matched four times, and the win pushed his season line to 7-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 102 strikeouts through 16 starts.
Trevor Larnach tacked on two more in the fifth with a two-run single that made it 7-1, part of a 3-for-5 night that included a double.
Houston’s only response after the first came in the sixth, when Joey Loperfido and Nick Allen delivered run-scoring singles off reliever Cody Laweryson. Neither run was earned, as Minnesota made two errors on the night.
Keaschall made it three home runs for the Twins in the eighth, sending a solo shot to left-center for his third of the season. Hitting in the No. 9 spot, he crossed the plate three times.
The victory also secured Minnesota a third straight series win away from home, something the club had not managed since May 2025. Wednesday’s win moved the Twins to 42-46, good for third in the AL Central and 4 1/2 games out of first place.
The Twins are off Thursday before opening a three-game set against the New York Yankees on Friday, July 3, where they will look to make it four consecutive road series wins.
Continue reading...
