Twins roll to victory over Astros with one big inning of hitting, inning after inning of pitching

Jose Miranda walked into the Twins clubhouse after their 6-1 victory over the Astros at Target Field on Saturday just as a replay of his go-ahead three-run homer was playing on the big-screen TVs. Then, something else on the screen caught his attention.

“It said my last home run was July 5,” Miranda said, his eyes growing wider. “I was like, ‘Really?’ It was way longer than I thought.”

Yes, nearly nine months between homers, a nice skid to be rid of. Much like the Twins’ own streak of nine consecutive innings without a hit— the final six innings Thursday and the first three Saturday — a long drought that the Twins’ six-run fourth inning finally put to rest.

“Sometimes you get in stretches like that, and we just kept pushing. Made some adjustments. See what works and what doesn’t,” Miranda said. “We stayed with it. There are so many ups and downs in this game, and sometimes you go through a rough spot.”

It’s hard to say the Twins offense is fixed, or cured, or found, even after their six-run fourth. Not only did they fail to scratch out a hit in their first three turns at bat Saturday, but the final 11 hitters went down in order, too.

But if they can pile up five hits and seven baserunners in one inning, at least they can make the other ones irrelevant.

They did so Saturday, thanks to Bailey Ober and five relievers, who held the Astros scoreless for the final eight innings.

“Bailey stuck it out and gave us four [innings],” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He threw a lot of pitches [84] in those four innings, so that’s why he was out of there after four. … It was a good day for all of them who came in. They were all ready, and they executed.”

Miranda had the big hit in the Twins’ lone run-scoring rally, but there were plenty of supporting contributions, too — including a couple by the Astros.

Byron Buxton got the fourth-inning outburst started, though not the way he wanted: He was hit on the left hand by a Spencer Arrighetti fastball. He immediately stole second base and watched Trevor Larnach draw a walk.

When Ty France followed with a line drive to left field, converted outfielder Jose Altuve fielded the ball on a bounce, then dropped it as he prepared to throw it toward third base. Buxton kept running and scored on the error.

Miranda’s home run later in the inning staked the Twins to a 4-1 lead, but they weren’t done. Christian Vázquez followed with a hustle double to left-center, a play on which he calculated he could beat Altuve’s throw to second base.

“I’m fast, you know? It was fun,” said Vázquez, who then laughed as he tweaked his former teammate. “I know Altuve has not a good arm. So I was trying to go to second base.”

Matt Wallner drove him home with a grounder down the right-field line, another double. Carlos Correa then hit a chopper up the third-base line that Astros reliever Tayler Scott grabbed. He spun and flung on the run, his no-look throw sailing past first baseman Christian Walker for another run-scoring error.

Larnach led off the fifth inning with a single, but the Twins then retreated into their offense-free shell once more. Relievers Ryan Gusto and former Twin Steven Okert racked up the final 12 outs without giving up another hit — not that the announced crowd of 16,082 seemed to mind. Not with Twins pitching up to the task of shutting down the Astros.

“A well-earned win — both sides of the ball,” Baldelli said. “Obviously, Miranda comes up and hammers a ball down in the zone and brings a few runs across. Sometimes you need a little spark.”

BOXSCORE: Twins 6, Houston 1

MLB standings

Actually, it seemed like Altuve was providing a spark when he ripped Ober’s second pitch of the game, a slider on the outside corner, just over the left-field wall — the 41st time the All-Star has led off a game with a home run.

But Ober didn’t allow another Astro to reach third base, a success he attributed to feeling healthy again after fighting a virus before last weekend’s 2025 debut at St. Louis.

“Been feeling good throughout the week. I felt really good,” Ober said. “I’m getting my strength back through the weight room, and just getting my body weight back up. So I’m feeling a little better.”

Though the signs are mixed, perhaps his team is, too.