Jose Miranda hit the walk-off three-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon for the Minnesota Twins, who beat the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 to earn a split of the two-game interleague series between division leaders.
The Twins won for the second time in six games. The Brewers have lost five of seven.
Jorge Polanco led off the ninth by working a seven-pitch walk against Josh Hader (0-3). Max Kepler then singled to right and Miranda got ahead 1-0 before crushing a no-doubter into the second deck in left field for his eighth blast of the season.
Miranda, who finished 3-for-5, sauntered up the first base line and stared at the Twins’ dugout before beginning his home run trot. It was the second walk-off hit for Miranda, who also had a ninth-inning RBI single to lift Minnesota to a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on July 2.
Hader surrendered a walk-off homer for the fourth time in his career and the first time since the Oakland Athletics’ Matt Olson tagged him for a game-winning solo shot on July 30, 2019.
Jhoan Duran (1-3) allowed a one-out double in the ninth to Pedro Severino and walked Luis Urias before inducing Jace Pederson to hit into a double play. The scoreless inning capped a combined four-hitter by four Twins pitchers.
Kepler had two hits while Gilbert Celestino had an RBI single in the second for the Twins.
Jace Peterson homered in the third for the Brewers.
Twins starter Joe Ryan allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 1/3 innings. Brewers starter Aaron Ashby gave up one run on six hits and three walks while striking out five over 4 1/3 innings.
The teams traded runs in the bottom of the second and top of the third.
With two outs in the second, Ryan Jeffers drew a walk and Alex Kirilloff was hit by a pitch before Celestino delivered an RBI single. Peterson then homered leading off the third.
–Field Level Media