Alex Kirilloff went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and four Minnesota pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout as the Twins topped the Colorado Rockies 6-0 on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Twins starter Chris Archer (2-3) allowed one hit — a single to C.J. Cron — walked one and struck out five in five scoreless innings. Relief pitchers Jharel Cotton, Griffin Jax and Tyler Thornburg followed Archer as the Rockies failed to notch another hit.
Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (3-4) gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out six.
The Twins evened the three-game series at one win apiece with the finale set for Sunday.
Archer threw 51 of 78 pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA from 3.44 to 3.14. He picked up his second victory in the past four starts after going winless in his first 10 outings.
Cotton and Jax had one scoreless inning apiece, and Thornburg pitched two scoreless frames.
Minnesota opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Luis Arraez led off the game with a double, and Byron Buxton followed with an RBI triple in the next at-bat to make it 1-0.
Arraez was involved again in the second as the Twins increased their lead to 2-0. He singled to center field to drive in Gary Sanchez.
In the fifth, the Twins scored two more runs to double their lead. Kyle Garlick hit an RBI single to center field to score Carlos Correa, and Kirilloff lofted a sacrifice fly to left field moments later to bring in Max Kepler from third base.
Kirilloff added a two-run double to deep right field to make it 6-0 in the seventh. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball to drive in Garlick and Kepler.
Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout. That snapped a four-game streak in which Rodgers recorded an extra-base hit.
Before the game, the Twins placed outfielder Trevor Larnach on the 10-day injured list because of a core muscle strain. The team recalled outfielder Mark Contreras from Triple-A St. Paul.
–Field Level Media