Jose Miranda tied a major league record by getting hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 9-3 on Saturday. Miranda, playing third base, began the game with hits in 10 straight official at-bats.
He singled twice in his first two at-bats on Saturday, matching the MLB record set by Johnny Kling of the Chicago Cubs in 1902, and later matched by Pinky Higgins of Boston in 1938 and Walt Dropo of Detroit in 1952. Miranda’s streak ended when he flew out in the sixth inning.
Minnesota quickly built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings and extended it to 7-1 after three innings. Willi Castro also contributed with three hits for the Twins.
Joe Ryan pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs to earn the win, breaking a streak of three consecutive no-decisions.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli praised his team’s approach: “We had excellent at-bats, Joe set a nice tone and we were able to ride that out.”
Jon Singleton hit a two-run homer for the Astros, who lost for only the third time in 16 games.
The Twins capitalized on Hunter Brown’s recent struggles despite his previous strong performances. Brown allowed seven runs on a season-high 12 hits over six innings.
Despite the loss, Brown remained optimistic: “I’ve been punched in the mouth before, and it happened today and it will happen again. Flush it and get out to the next one.”
By the fourth inning, every Twins starter had at least one hit. Brooks Lee, called up just days earlier and ranked as the Twins’ No. 2 prospect, hit his first career home run with a two-run shot in the third inning, adding to his strong start with seven hits in his first four games.
