Jorge Polanco went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs as the host Minnesota Twins avoided being swept by the Washington Nationals with a 3-1 win on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Jose Miranda went 2-for-3 with a run and a walk, and right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0) allowed a run on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks over 5 2/3 innings for Minnesota.
Michael A. Taylor added a solo homer for the Twins, who ended a three-game losing streak by winning for just the second time in their past eight games.
Keibert Ruiz went 1-for-4 with an RBI double for the Nationals, who were held to just three hits after winning the first two contests of the three-game set by a combined score of 13-6.
Trailing 1-0, the Twins hit two homers in the fourth inning to take the lead for good.
Polanco led off the inning by crushing Washington starter Patrick Corbin’s changeup down the left-field line for a solo home run. Two outs later, Taylor blasted Corbin’s sinker 444 feet over the center-field fence.
Minnesota extended its advantage to 3-1 in the fifth. After Miranda drew a two-out walk, he advanced to third on Ryan Jeffers’ single to center and scored on Polanco’s single to right.
Left-hander Corbin (1-3) allowed three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings for Washington, which has dropped seven of its past 10 games.
After Ober departed with two outs in the sixth, the Twins’ bullpen didn’t allow a hit the rest of the way. Caleb Thielbar closed out the sixth and seventh, while Jorge Lopez took care of the eighth. Jhoan Duran pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to collect his fifth save of the season.
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in their first at bat.
After Alex Call flew out to center and Jeimer Candelario walked, Joey Meneses popped out to second before Luis Garcia’s walk put runners on first and second. Ruiz laced a double to left to score Candelario before Ober struck out Dominic Smith to end the inning.
–Field Level Media