Twins narrowly fall short after furious comeback, losing 13-12 to Astros

Jose Miranda hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield in the seventh inning Friday, rounded first base and received a standing ovation from the Target Field crowd.

Imagine the reaction if the Twins pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history.

Miranda became the first Twins player in team history to hit a home run in 10 consecutive plate appearances, a streak that spanned three games. He hit a tying home run in the third inning and a game-tying RBI double in the fifth inning, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Houston Astros in a 13-12 loss.

The Twins trailed by eight runs entering the ninth inning and forced Josh Hader into the game with the tying run on the line. Hader’s leadoff hitter, Carlos Correa, hit a grand slam just over the left-field wall.

Hader, however, struck out Manuel Margot to secure a one-run victory. The Twins had six straight batters reach base with two outs in the ninth inning.

It was the first time the Twins had faced the Astros at Target Field since losing Game 4 of the American League Division Series. Pablo López, the Twins’ ace in the last postseason, allowed eight hits and six runs in five innings in another rough start. All eight of López’s hits were singles, but it was the sixth time this season he has allowed at least five earned runs. His ERA climbed to 5.18 after 18 starts.

The Astros took the lead in a three-run sixth inning. López allowed three straight singles to start the inning, including a hit by Jeremy Peña. Jorge Alcala had two runners on, and they both scored when Joey Loperfido hit a grounder down the right-field line before the ball bounced out of bounds.

Miranda, who had 10 hits against seven different pitchers, carried the Twins’ offense from the backup position. No MLB player has had a hit in 11 consecutive at-bats since 1961, according to Elias Sports Bureau. His seventh-inning single made him the 14th major leaguer to have a hit in 10 consecutive at-bats.

He hit a tying home run just inside the left-field foul pole in the third inning, blasting an inside changeup 414 feet down the line. It was the first home run allowed by Astros pitcher Shawn Dubin in 27 innings this year.

It was Miranda — who else? — who started the rally in the second inning after the Twins fell behind by three runs early with a soaring single to left field. The Twins loaded the bases with one out before Brooks Lee singled to right field, making his career with an RBI in his first three games, and Willi Castro followed two batters later with a bases-loaded walk and four pitches.

Jose Altuve kept the Twins from scoring at least two more runs in the second inning. Correa hit a fly ball into right field at medium depth. Altuve chased down his former double-play partner’s ball, running about 13 steps before catching a basket over his shoulder while sliding near the right-field line.

The Twins scored a run in every inning Miranda hit. Even when Austin Martin replaced him as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning with the Twins trailing by eight runs, Martin singled to center field to restart a three-run comeback.

Altuve was hit by a 94 mph sinker on the left wrist in the top of the eighth inning, exiting after a brief discussion with an Astros trainer. Frustration and confusion reigned afterward. The Astros turned the inning into a three-run inning after three straight singles, a fly ball by Margot and a sacrifice fly.

In the ninth inning, after Kody Funderburk hit Cesar Salazar with a pitch that sparked a rally between the two players, Alex Bregman crushed a three-run homer to the second deck in left field.

POINTS TABLE: Houston 13, Twins 12

The confusion? Christian Vázquez led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, Astros right fielder Joey Loperfido was surprised when he jumped to catch the ball off the right-field wall, the ball came out of his glove and he caught it with his bare hand as he fell to the ground. Vázquez threw out to first base when he saw the catch, but first-base umpire Doug Eddings ruled it was not a catch.

A game review took place when both review results would have resulted in elimination.