First game the walks, then the hits and the runs.
Edouard Julien and Christian Ramirez drew walks in a scoreless third inning off Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti, snapping a two-game run without a base on balls by Minnesota. Then the floodgates opened in the fourth.
Jose Miranda hit a three-run home run, and Matt Wallner added a run-scoring double as the Twins erased a one-run deficit on four hits, another walk and two errors in the fourth inning to beat the Astros, 6-1, on Saturday at Target Field.
Miranda’s home run, his first of the young season, was the centerpiece of a six-run inning that ultimately evened a three-game series that concludes Sunday with a noon first pitch.
Bailey Ober struggled with his control in his second start of the season but limited damage against him to Jose Altuve’s leadoff home run, largely on the strength of five timely strikeouts. He was relieved by Louis Varland after allowing three hits and a pair of walks in four innings.
Varland, Cole Sands (1-1), Jorge Alcala, Justin Topa and Jhoan Duran each threw a scoreless innings for the Twins (3-5).
Arrighetti (1-1) pitched 4⅔ innings, giving up Miranda’s two-out, three-run homer on a 78 mph curveball. That scored the batter plus Edouard Julien, who reached on a fielder’s choice, and Trevor Larnach, who had walked.
Next batter Christian Vazquez hustled out a double, spelling the end for Arrighetti, who was charged with five runs on three hits and three walks. The Twins’ first run came in when Byron Buxton hustled in from second on an outfield error, but Buxton had reached after being hit by Arrighetti.
Buxton, playing center field, stayed in the game and took two more at-bats.
Vazquez later scored on Matt Wallner’s double off right-hander Tayler Scott. Wallner scored on Scott’s error when he tried to throw out Carlos Correa on a dribbler down the third–base line. That made it 6-1.
Altuve, who started the game with a home run off Ober into the shallow seats of the left field bleachers, went 3 for 5 for Houston.
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