Joey Loperfido’s Incredible Jump and Juggling

MINNEAPOLIS — Astros rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido, whose barehanded, second-down catch of a Willi Castro fly ball off the wall in the eighth inning Friday epitomized the madness of the night, couldn’t resist going on his phone moments after Houston left Target Field with a 13-12 victory over the Twins.

“I just texted my parents, ‘What a relaxing game,’” he joked.

Not at all. It certainly wasn’t a walkover for the Twins, who gave up 10 runs after the fifth inning, or for the Astros, who nearly blew an eight-run lead in the ninth inning. Carlos Correa’s grand slam off tight end Josh Hader turned a loss into a thriller, but the Astros, in top form, continue to rack up the wins nonetheless.

“Sometimes it’s not the way you design it, but you have to be resilient and find a way, and our guys find a way,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.

The Astros improved to 6-2 after their 10-game road trip, moving their record to four games above .500 (46-42). They remain two games behind the first-place Mariners in a tight American League West race.

The Astros led 10-5 in the eighth inning when Castro crushed a pitch from Astros reliever Luis Contreras to right field. Loperfido stepped back and jumped with his glove over the wall and made the catch — initially.

The ball flew out of his glove, but Loperfido was able to reach out and catch it with his bare right hand as he fell to the ground. Loperfido threw toward first base to try to catch Christian Vázquez, who was rushing back to base thinking the ball was ruled a strike.

The Astros challenged the no-catch call — and had it overturned, allowing Loperfido’s efforts to pay off.

“At the time, I caught it and threw it and I saw (Vázquez) running toward first base,” Loperfido said. “It was kind of slow motion and I just caught it on the way down. But (center fielder) Jake (Meyers) and I were like, ‘Somebody’s got to be out.’ We didn’t know who. He had a good angle and said, ‘I really didn’t think it hit the wall.’ It was a fun play, a cool play. I’d like to catch it the first time, but I’ll take it.”

Correa, who hit the Twins’ first grand slam of the season off Hader in the ninth inning, said it was one of the best catches of the year.

“It has to be, right?” he said. “I mean, the way he climbed that wall, hit the glove, stayed with it, caught it with his bare hands. It was very impressive. He even gave the refs a headache, so you know how crazy that play was.”

The Astros’ offense continues to run smoothly without star slugger Kyle Tucker, who had 19 homers when he hit a ball with his shin on June 3 and was subsequently placed on the disabled list. They went 8 in 17 at-bats Friday, led by Jeremy Peña (3 for 5, three runs, three RBI) and Alex Bregman, who hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning as Houston led 13-5.

“It was great,” Bregman said. “Across the board, we had great at-bats throughout the game. They’ve got a good pitching staff there and we’re fortunate to score enough runs. Obviously, they don’t always look great, but a win is a win and we’re going to build on that tomorrow.”

Correa was robbed of two RBIs in the second inning by Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, his former teammate, who raced nearly 90 feet to retrieve a fly ball in left field with the bases loaded.

“It was a fun game,” Correa said. “It was probably one of the most fun games of the season so far. I know we didn’t get the win, but it’s still two great teams battling and playing good baseball. It’s a blast to watch, especially if you’re a baseball fan. You’ve got to love that kind of game. Long at-bats. Both offenses putting up good at-bats inning after inning. It was a good show.”