MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Farmer bounced a bases-loaded single straight up the middle of a drawn-in Houston infield in the 10th inning, giving the Minnesota Twins a 3-2 victory over the over the whiff-prone Astros in their home opener Thursday.
After Ryan Pressly struck out all three Twins batters in the ninth and Mauricio Dubón drove in the automatic runner with a 10th-inning single to give the Astros the lead, Ryne Stanek (1-1) lost control with two wild pitches and two walks.
Jose Miranda, who went 3 for 5, tied it with a single after automatic runner Byron Buxton took third on a wild pitch. After Donovan Solano was intentionally walked, Farmer delivered for the sellout crowd of 38,465 on a sunny 49-degree afternoon after the game was delayed a day for better weather.
Twins starter Sonny Gray had a career-high with 13 strikeouts in seven innings. Jo López (1-0) was the winner after pitching the 10th.
The Twins stranded four runners in scoring position against Astros starter José Urquidy, who retired former Astros catcher Christian Vázquez on a bases-loaded pop-up to end the fourth inning. The Twins are 0 for 8 with the bases loaded this season.
Urquidy was removed with one out and two on in the sixth, when Donovan Solano scored the tying run on a wild pitch by reliever Bryan Abreu.
Gray, who pitched five scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City last week despite a lack of velocity and command, had his sharp stuff. He was irked at times last year during his debut with the Twins by the extra-careful approach to starting pitcher workloads, and he challenged his rotation teammates during spring training to last deeper into games this season.
This was a perfect example. With an extra day of rest thanks to the pre-emptive postponement, Gray threw 98 pitches and only had one runner past second base. Alex Bregman drove in Dubón with a two-out single in the third, after Dubón — who’s been filling in for the injured Jose Altuve at second base — started the inning with a double.
Carlos Correa went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and a double-play groundout for the Twins against his former team, the defending champions who went 106-56 in 2022. That included a 6-0 mark against Minnesota, by a combined 36-11 score.
The Twins, who’ve been off to a slow offensive start with second baseman Jorge Polanco and first baseman Alex Kirilloff missing from the lineup due to injuries, lost right fielder Joey Gallo to soreness in his right side after five innings.
GRAY DAY
The strikeouts by Gray were the most in a game by a Twins pitcher since Francisco Liriano (15) on July 13, 2012, against Oakland.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: LHP Blake Taylor (left elbow strain) has made three scoreless appearances on a rehab assignment for Triple-A Sugar Land. He’s eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday. There are no lefties currently in Houston’s bullpen.
Twins: RF Max Kepler (right knee tendinitis) was on the bench for the third straight game but available for pinch-hitting. ... Polanco (left knee inflammation) started a rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers on Thursday, going 1 for 3 with two strikeouts. He’ll be playing in the minors for awhile to log the at-bats he missed during spring training, on an every-other-day basis for now. ... Kirilloff (right wrist surgery recovery) is still taking live batting practice at the team’s spring training facility and not ready yet for a rehab assignment.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Luis Garcia (0-1, 5.40 ERA) starts Saturday.
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (1-0, 1.50 ERA) takes the mound for the middle game of the series.
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