Twins Edge Angels 5‑3 Behind Lewis, Ryan’s Strong Start
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) – Royce Lewis’s two-run homer in the second inning and Victor Caratini’s go-ahead double in the seventh lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon at Target Field.
The Twins improved to 47-49, while the Angels fell to 38-58. Minnesota evened the three-game series after dropping the opener Friday. The game drew 21,286 fans and lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes.
Minnesota took control early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. Kody Clemens led off with a walk, and Lewis followed by driving a pitch over the wall in left-center for his 10th homer, scoring Clemens. Victor Caratini walked, and after a groundout by Alan Roden, Tristan Gray singled to put runners at the corners. Luke Keaschall then lifted a sacrifice fly to center fielder Mike Trout, scoring Caratini for a 3-0 lead. Gray was thrown out trying to advance to second on the play.
The Angels answered in the third. Zach Neto singled, and Trout doubled to put runners at second and third. After a flyout, Jorge Soler doubled sharply to left, scoring both Neto and Trout to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Angels could not add more as Vaughn Grissom lined out and Jo Adell popped out.
Both starting pitchers kept the game tight. Angels starter Mitch Farris, making his first major league start, settled after the second-inning outburst. Twins starter Joe Ryan worked six innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out six. He left with the lead.
The Angels tied the game in the seventh against the Twins bullpen. Neto singled with one out and scored when Nolan Schanuel lined a single to left, making it 3-3. But the Twins answered immediately in the bottom half.
Royce Lewis started the Twins’ half of the seventh with a sharp double to left. Caratini followed with a double to left, scoring Lewis to break the tie. Alan Roden then singled to right, plating Caratini for a 5-3 advantage. The Twins’ rally nearly continued, but Ryan Kreidler grounded into a double play. Luke Keaschall singled and Austin Martin singled, putting runners at the corners, but Keaschall was caught attempting to steal home to end the inning.
Twins reliever Yoendrys Gómez worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit and striking out one. Tommy Nance, who pitched a scoreless seventh, earned the win to improve to 2-2. Farris took the loss, falling to 0-1, after allowing five runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. Gómez recorded his 11th save with a scoreless ninth that included a strikeout of Vaughn Grissom to end the game.
The Angels outhit the Twins 10-9, but Minnesota grounded into three double plays, keeping the game close. Trout doubled and singled, and Neto had two hits and scored twice for Los Angeles. Soler drove in two runs with his double. For Minnesota, Roden finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Caratini went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. Lewis had two hits, including the homer and a double, and drove in two runs. Gray, Martin and Larnach each had a hit.
The Angels had a chance in the ninth, putting two runners on with one out. Trout singled, Schanuel walked, but Soler popped out on the infield fly rule and Grissom struck out on a foul tip to end the game.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota 7, Los Angeles 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Twins a 58.50 percent probability to win. Minnesota entered as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of eight runs went over the over-under line of nine.