Jose Miranda matched the major league record for consecutive hits and rookie Brooks Lee clubbed his first career home run as the Minnesota Twins beat the visiting Houston Astros 9-3 on Saturday.
Miranda went 2-for-3 after entering the game with 10 hits in his previous 10 at-bats. He was hit by a pitch from Astros right-hander Hunter Brown (6-6) in his first plate appearance then added singles in the second and fourth innings to become the first player in the Expansion Era with 12 hits in 12 at-bats. Brown retired Miranda on a flyout to left in the sixth to end the record streak.
The other hitters on record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats are: The Tigers’ Walt Dropo (1952), the Red Sox’s Pinky Higgins (1938) and the Cubs’ Johnny Kling (1902).
The Twins ambushed Brown with seven runs across the first three innings, snapping his streak of eight consecutive quality starts and five straight wins. Before plunking Miranda with a pitch, Brown surrendered successive singles to Willi Castro, Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach, with Castro scoring on the Larnach hit and Correa later coming home on a Max Kepler sacrifice fly.
Minnesota extended to a 5-0 lead in the second when Miranda and Carlos Santana delivered RBI singles after Castro (3-for-5, two runs, one RBI) smacked a run-scoring double to right field that plated Ryan Jeffers.
An inning later, Lee socked a two-run homer to right-center that scored Byron Buxton and upped the margin to 7-1. The Twins recorded 10 hits through three innings against Brown, who settled down and capped his outing with three shutout innings and seven consecutive batters retired.
Brown, 5-0 with a 0.29 ERA in his previous five starts, allowed seven runs on 12 hits and one walk with six strikeouts over six innings.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (6-5) surrendered four home runs in his previous start against the Astros, a 5-2 loss on June 1. He was much sharper this time around, recording eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings while allowing three runs on five hits and one walk.
The Astros posted a pair of doubles against Ryan in the third, with Alex Bregman driving home Mauricio Dubon with his double.
With one out in the fourth, Jon Singleton blasted a 406-foot homer to right-center off Ryan that sliced the deficit to 7-3.
The Astros loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, chasing Ryan in the process. Twins reliever Jorge Alcala recorded arguably the biggest out of the game when he induced a flyball out from Dubon to close the sixth with Dubon representing the tying run.
Buxton (2-for-4, two runs and two RBIs) added a two-run homer, his ninth, off Astros reliever Rafael Montero in the seventh.
–Field Level Media
The other hitters on record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats are: The Tigers’ Walt Dropo (1952), the Red Sox’s Pinky Higgins (1938) and the Cubs’ Johnny Kling (1902).
–Field Level Media