Twins top Angels 4‑2 behind Bradley’s sharp outing

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — Trevor Larnach homered and drove in two runs, Ryan Jeffers added a two-run double and the Minnesota Twins defeated the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Target Field.

Attendance was 20,509, and the game lasted 2 hours 29 minutes. The Twins improved to 48-49, while the Angels fell to 38-59.

The Angels struck first in the second inning. Josh Lowe led off the frame with a solo home run to right-center, his eighth of the season, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. Minnesota answered in the third. Luke Keaschall singled, Ryan Kreidler singled to put runners at first and second, and Larnach singled to right to score Keaschall and tie the game. Jeffers then doubled to left, driving in Kreidler and Larnach to put the Twins ahead 3-1.

The Angels cut the deficit in the seventh. Denzer Guzman led off the inning with a solo homer to left, his fourth, making it 3-2. Guzman’s blast came against Twins starter Taj Bradley, who settled down after that to finish the inning.

Minnesota added an insurance run in the eighth. Larnach led off the bottom half with a solo home run to right, his seventh of the season, extending the lead to 4-2. Angels reliever Jose Soriano retired the next three batters, but the damage was done.

Bradley earned the win, improving to 9-3. He pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out six and walking two. Soriano took the loss, falling to 8-6, after allowing four runs on six hits over seven innings, with two walks and three strikeouts.

Andrew Morris recorded his third save, pitching two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Larnach finished 2 for 4 with the home run and two RBIs. Jeffers went 1 for 4 with two RBIs. Keaschall had two hits in three at-bats, including a pair of singles. For the Angels, Lowe homered in his four at-bats, and Guzman also homered. Mike Trout singled twice in four at-bats, and Nolan Schanuel singled twice in four at-bats. Logan O’Hoppe went 0 for 3.

The game’s most critical sequence came in the third inning, when the Twins erased a one-run deficit with three runs. After Keaschall and Kreidler reached base, Larnach’s single tied the game. Jeffers then cleared the bases with a double to left, giving Minnesota a lead it never relinquished. Larnach’s eighth-inning homer provided a vital cushion after the Angels had pulled within one.

The Twins had taken two of three in the series, winning Sunday after splitting the previous two games: a 5-3 victory Saturday and a 4-3 loss Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Minnesota 6, Los Angeles 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Twins a 58.50 percent probability to win. Minnesota was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of six went over the over-under line of 8.5.