Christian Vazquez's walk-off home run to open the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Minnesota Twins over the Houston Astros 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. Vazquez finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Minnesota, which took the rubber match of the three-game series and have won six of their last eight games. Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee each tallied two hits and scored a run. Cesar Salazar and Jose Altuve had one RBI apiece for Houston, which was held to five hits. Joey Loperfido hit a pinch-hit double for the Astros' only extra-base hit. Twins right-hander Jhoan Duran (4-3) got the victory after pitching a scoreless ninth. He was one of three relievers to follow Simeon Woods Richardson, who held Houston to two runs on three hits in six innings. Astros left-hander Josh Hader (3-5) allowed the game-winning home run to the first batter he faced. He was one of four relievers to follow Spencer Arrighetti, who allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings. Vazquez worked the count full against Hader before belting the seventh pitch 362 feet to left field. The blast was Vazquez's fourth of the season. The Astros jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second. Salazar started the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Jon Singleton. Moments later, Altuve singled to left to score Jake Meyers from second base. The Twins pulled within 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. Buxton singled to right, advanced to second on Matt Wallner's walk and scored on Vazquez's single to left. In the fourth, Minnesota pulled even at 2-2. The Twins had runners on first and third with nobody out when Vazquez hit a fielder's choice groundout to score Lee. Twins shortstop Carlos Correa left the game after he was hit on the right hand by Arrighetti in the bottom of the first. The team said that the two-time All-Star had a right finger contusion and that initial X-rays did not show a fracture. --Field Level Media
Jul 7, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez (8) hits an RBI single against the Houston Astros in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports