HOUSTON — 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.

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The Timberwolves are fresh off their best season in two decades — 56 wins, two playoffs series victories, including an ouster of the defending champions.

After being eliminated from the Western Conference finals by Dallas, numerous Wolves players noted the team would be back. That’s a fair expectation given the number of key players set to return for the 2024-25 campaign.

Kyle Anderson is the only member of the top eight not signed for next season, and both he, coach Chris Finch and basketball boss Tim Connelly stated a clear interest in the forward returning next season.

So, there’s no reason for Minnesota not to trot out essentially the same roster next season with the idea that player development, tweaks to approach and another year of continuity could potentially be enough to get the Wolves over the hump.

“I’m a big fan of continuity, certainly. You should have continuity offensively because you just kind of know each other better,” Finch said. “Hopefully, we can continue to be a little bit better out of the gate offensively. Continuity and internal growth, to me, is the key to going far in this league. We’ve experienced it ourself — heavy change takes awhile to settle down and then build off of. … If you have continuity, you’re going to be ahead of the curve.”

The only obstacle standing between Minnesota and another season of “running it back,” frankly, is money.

The Wolves are going to be an expensive team next season, as the big-money contract extensions of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels kick in. Just keeping who’s under contract at the moment will leave Minnesota in the luxury tax, and hand ownership — whoever that consists of next season — a hefty bill to foot.

Re-signing Anderson — unless his market is noncompetitive, which would be surprising for the smart, do-it-all 31-year-old forward — would likely push Minnesota past the second apron, which would then also restrict what the team can do in free agency and on the trade market.

But that’s all worth it if it maintains a championship-caliber roster. Frankly, in the NBA, it’s expensive to contend at a high level. That’s the cost of doing business.

“I think we have to be cognizant of how big the table we’re at. Oftentimes, the final four table comes with a price tag that’s different than teams that aren’t playing this late in the season, and certainly whatever ownership allows, we’re going to be committed and aggressive,” Connelly said. “I think when you get a taste of it, you want more and more, so that’ll be something we discuss with ownership. It’s also something that we’re pretty aware to a large degree, to be where we are, it’s going to come with a certain check. And I think by all accounts, ownership has given us no indication we’re going to be anything but aggressive and try to get over one more hump. We got over a big hump after 20 years this year, but we’re certainly not content.”

Connelly noted Minnesota’s current ownership situation is “obviously in a unique place right now.”

Connelly — who has an opt-out in his contract this summer but expressed a firm desire to remain in Minnesota — said everyone has been “unbelievably supportive.” Finch said he’s not concerned with the ownership situation, noting his strong relationships with all parties.

“They’ve all pledged that no matter how it shakes out, that they’re going to give us every opportunity to be successful and continue to build, build a winner and a champion, and all the things that we’re all trying to do together,” Finch said.

Connelly noted owners — majority and minority alike — clearly enjoyed the postseason run, which only increases the likelihood of being willing to pay to compete again next season.

That’s certainly Connelly’s hope.

“I think, optimally, if given the two options, we’d always err on the side of patience and continuity. And we’ve been fortunate that ownership has allowed that. After coming off last season, ownership allowed us to see what we had this year. And then we had a pretty successful run,” Connelly said. “We have well-laid theoretical plans but the fluidity of the marketplace changes things rapidly. And we’ll be aggressive and nimble, but again, I think patience is oftentimes most rewarded if you’re allowed to do so.”

It’s clear what the preferred path is of the organization, should Glen Taylor or the tandem of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez allow them to take it.

“I think we are at a moment where we want to keep pushing forward, and we’re going to do that,” Finch said. “What that looks like, I’m not 100 percent sure.”

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