Jose Miranda tied a significant baseball record by getting hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances. This helped the Minnesota Twins defeat the Houston Astros 9-3 on Saturday. Miranda, who played third base, had already set a team record with hits in 10 straight at-bats before the game.
He singled in his first two official at-bats on Saturday, matching a record previously set by Johnny Kling in 1902 and later matched by Pinky Higgins in 1938 and Walt Dropo in 1952. Miranda’s streak came to an end in the sixth inning when he hit a routine flyout to left field.
The Twins quickly built a five-run lead in the first two innings and extended it to 7-1 after three innings. Willi Castro contributed three hits for Minnesota. Joe Ryan pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs to earn the win after three consecutive no-decisions.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli commented, “We had excellent at-bats, Joe set a nice tone, and we were able to ride that out.”
The Astros, who had been playing well with 13 wins in their previous 15 games, were led by Jon Singleton’s two-run homer. Despite their efforts, they struggled against the Twins’ offense.
Hunter Brown, who had been pitching strongly with just one earned run allowed over his previous five starts, had a tough outing. He managed to complete six innings but gave up seven runs on 12 hits, the most he had allowed in a game this season.
Despite the setback, Brown remained optimistic, saying, “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 recorded at least one hit, showcasing their offensive prowess in the game.
