Make It Official! Twins 4, Astros 3: Miranda's Heroics Tilt Balance for Twins

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (66 Pitches, 45 Strikes, 68.2%)
Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (6), José Miranda (6)
Top 3 WPA: Miranda (.368), Jhoan Durán (.199), Steven Okert (.145)
Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs):

After being humbled in Joe Ryan's worst start of the year, losing the middle game of the three-game series in Houston 5-2, the Twins sent out rookie Simeon Woods Richardson, hoping to complete a 5-2 road trip. It was a homecoming for the Sugarland, Tex. native, and he looked good, striking out Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena in a solid first inning.

Opposing Woods Richardson was attempted Justin Verlander clone, Hunter Brown. Brown doesn't draw as many JV comparisons these days, and in fact, has altered his pitch mix since stumbling down the stretch last year and coming out of the gates as one of the worst starters in MLB this year. He has implemented a sinker in an attempt to neutralize right-handed hitters (who entered Sunday's game with a .910 OPS against Brown).

That would prove to be a good adjustment, but in the early going, it was the Twins' left-handed hitters who did damage to Brown, beginning with Trevor Larnach hitting a leadoff homer on a cutter left middle-in. Another lefty fighting to not be demoted upon the return of Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, hit a hanging sinker from Brown off the fence in right-center in the second inning to score Willi Castro from first, making the game (briefly) 2-0.

That lead would be cut in half when Victor Caratini hit a changeup from Woods Richardson on an 0-2 count into the right-field stands. The stuff looked good from the rookie, but Houston's experience and baseball IQ were better. Woods Richardson threw three consecutive changeups before Caratini's homer, and with a man on an inning later, he tried to flip a first-pitch curveball to Alex Bregman. Bregman was expecting just that, and obliterated the pitch beyond the Crawford boxes to make the score 3-2.

Brown started to settle into a rhythm following the Kirilloff double, establishing his sinker and allowing zero hits or walks from Twins righties through four innings. The pitch hit 97 MPH and was complemented well by his splitter and curveball. In Kirilloff's second at-bat, Brown didn't even go to the fastball, throwing two splitters in the zone to get ahead 0-2, and then getting Kirilloff to swing through a curveball to strike him out.

Woods Richardson kept the score where it was, but with the off day Monday, he was not allowed to pitch to the Houston lineup a third time, finishing with 66 pitches. Caleb Thielbar came in and was able to retire Kyle Tucker and Bregman to complete the fifth inning.

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Brown nearly got through his outing with six innings and only two runs allowed, but Miranda had other ideas, demolishing a four-seamer on the upper outside corner 406 feet to tie the game at three.

The Astros attempted to rally against Jorge Alcalá in the seventh. After Caratini launched a ball that Byron Buxton made a leaping catch on, he allowed a walk and a bunt single to bring up Tucker. Steven Okert relieved Alcalá and got Tucker to pop out. Bregman singled, but Okert threw some excellent pitches to Alvarez before inducing a weak flyout to retire the side.

The Twins immediately pounced on the opportunity. Larnach took five balls (one called strike was not close) to draw a walk leading off the inning against Ryan Pressly. Jeffers bunted to advance pinch runner Manuel Margot to second, which would have been a very questionable decision had Miranda not stepped to the plate and ripped a double to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. Max Kepler lined out, and Buxton came about five feet from hitting a ball off the Crawford boxes, with Alvarez catching the fly ball to end the threat.

Griffin Jax and Jhoan Durán both pitched 1-2-3 innings to seal the victory.

The Good:
-Woods Richardson threw well, but poor pitch sequencing led to all of the runs against him. Still, he showed good composure and his fastball registered as fast as 95 MPH.
-Larnach, Miranda and Kirilloff, all potential roster casualties upon Lewis's return, had good at-bats and all drove in runs with authority.
-Steven Okert, who has given up a couple of big hits thus far in 2024, retired both Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez in a key spot in the seventh.

The Bad:
-Ryan Jeffers did not record any hits, and his pitch calling led to three Houston runs.
-Thielbar just can't get Alvarez out, as he scorched a single 110 MPH off of him to lead off the sixth.

What’s Next: Bailey Ober (5-1, 3.02 ERA not against the Royals, 5-3, 4.89 ERA overall) faces former Twins farmhand Luis Gil (7-1, 1.99 ERA) as the Twins open a series in New York on Tuesday. The Yankees swept the Twins at Target Field in May, and are playing quite well, easily leading MLB in runs allowed despite losing Gerrit Cole to start the year, with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto more than making up for a lack of lineup depth.

Postgame Interviews:
(Coming soon)
Bullpen Usage Chart: