By MIKE COOK | Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Miranda hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 8-7 Sunday night to take both games of a split doubleheader and finish a sweep of the four-game series.
Willi Castro had three hits, and Carlos Correa and Austin Martin each had two for the Twins. Minnesota has won five straight and seven of eight.
“It was a great day,” said Royce Lewis, who homered in both games.
With one out in the eighth, Miranda crushed a first-pitch slider from Dany Jiménez (1-2) 427 feet to the second deck in left field, Minnesota’s third home run of the night. Lewis and Trevor Larnach also went deep.
Miranda replaced Larnach as the designated hitter in the sixth.
“Any time I’m not in the game I’m always getting prepared in the cage. I know the pitchers that can come in and I’ve got to be ready,” he said.
JJ Bleday had a career-high four hits and Tyler Soderstrom had three hits including a home run, but Oakland lost for the ninth straight time, including all seven games of a road trip that began in San Diego. Pitching coach Scott Emerson was ejected in the sixth inning.
“This offense, when we hit homers, we usually win. We just didn’t have the pitching to get it done,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We swung the bats better on the road than we did the last homestand, but we didn’t come away with any wins.”
Lewis has seven home runs in his first 12 games of the season, something never done in Twins history.
“It’s more than I’ve ever seen,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s not fluky, he’s really very talented, he’s got a very good swing that stays on plane. He can hit fastballs, he can hit breaking balls, he always has a chance to do something. There’s a dangerous nature about him at the plate. When he’s on your side, you can’t help but smile when he’s doing it.”
After recording the final out of the seventh inning, Josh Staumont (1-0) struck out the side in the eighth. Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Correa has had multiple hits in eight of his last 11 games, including two home runs as part of a three-hit game when Minnesota won the opener 6-2. Lewis and Carlos Santana also homered.
Called up to be Minnesota’s 27th player for the doubleheader, Louie Varland threw 4 1/3 mostly solid innings, but gave up four straight singles in the seventh, the last two RBIs by Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers to tie the score at 7-all.
Oakland starter Joey Estes allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Minnesota starter Chris Paddack lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs and five hits. Each gave up two home runs.
NICE GRAB
Martin reached over the wall to rob Langeliers of a home run in the second.
“Hell yeah, I was surprised!” he said. “I felt it go in my glove, but my whole arm kind of went over, so I didn’t know what I would be bringing back. I didn’t expect to bring back a baseball, so when I looked and I had it, I was like, ‘Dang, that’s not bad.’”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: Starting RHP Ross Stripling, out since May 25 with a strained right elbow, has begun to throw from 105 feet. Kotsay has no timetable for him throwing a bullpen session or off a mound.
Twins: RF Max Kepler returned to the lineup in the night game. He sat out the first game after being hit above the elbow by a 99-mph pitch Friday.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP Hogan Harris (0-0, 2.49) is scheduled to start on Tuesday at home against Kansas City. The Royals plan to start RHP Alec Marsh (5-3, 3.63).
Twins: RHP Pablo López (6-6, 5.33) will start at home on Tuesday against Rays’ RHP Aaron Civale (2-5, 5.20) to open a three-game series.
