MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Miranda matched a major league record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances and Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee homered, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 9-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Miranda, playing third base, entered the game with the team-record of hits in 10 straight at-bats. The 26-year-old singled in his first two official at-bats Saturday and tied the MLB record set by the Chicago Cubs’ Johnny Kling (1902) and matched by Boston’s Pinky Higgins (1938) and Detroit’s Walt Dropo (1952). His streak ended in the sixth inning on a routine flyout to left field.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Miranda matched a major league record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances and Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee homered, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 9-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar winds up to deliver during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda, right, celebrates with third base coach Tommy Watkins, left, after hitting a home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Shawn Dubin during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda acknowledges the crowd after hitting a fly out to end his streak of 12 consecutive at-bats with a hit during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda tips his helmet after setting a Twins record for reaching base safely in 12 consecutive plate appearances during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Willi Castro added three hits for Minnesota, which raced to a five-run lead in the first two innings and led 7-1 after three.
Joe Ryan (6-5) allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, earning the win after three straight no-decisions.
"We went out there, we had excellent at-bats, Joe set a nice tone and we were able to ride that out," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Jon Singleton hit a two-run homer for the Astros, who lost for just the third time in 16 games.
The Twins jumped all over Hunter Brown (6-6), who had been one of the hottest pitchers in the majors. Over his previous five starts, he allowed just one earned run and struck out 34 in 31 innings pitched.
Brown did manage to complete six innings for the ninth straight outing, but gave up seven runs on a season-high 12 hits.
“I’ve been punched in the mouth before, and it happened today and it will happen again,” Brown said. “Flush it and get out to the next one.”
Every Twins starter had at least one hit by the fourth inning. Castro singled in the first, doubled in the second and singled in the third.
Lee's two-run homer in the third inning was the first of his career. The Twins' No. 2 prospect was called up on Wednesday and has seven hits in his first four games.
“It’s a moment I’ll never forget,” Lee said of his home run. “I wasn’t trying to get it out of the way or anything, it just happened to leave the yard.”
Buxton hit a two-run shot in the seventh to give the Twins some breathing room after Houston had the tying run at the plate in the sixth inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: 2B Jose Altuve (left wrist contusion) was out of the lineup a day after he was hit on the wrist by a pitch. X-rays were negative on Friday and he’s still considered day-to-day. … OF Yordon Alvarez was hit by a pitch on his right knee in the sixth inning. He remained in the game, but was removed for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. Through an interpreter, Alvarez said, “I got hit the same spot there a couple of weeks ago, and the inflammation of that one hadn’t fully gone away. My knee’s in a lot of pain right now, but we’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”
UP NEXT
The series wraps up on Sunday with RHP Spencer Arrighetti (4-7, 6.13 ERA) of the Astros facing RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.52) of the Twins. Arrighetti lasted just four innings in his last start, giving up six earned runs while waking four against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Woods Richardson has given up at least three earned runs in four of his last six starts.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Houston Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubón (14) dives for a single hit by Minnesota Twins' Willi Castro during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar winds up to deliver during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda, right, celebrates with third base coach Tommy Watkins, left, after hitting a home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Shawn Dubin during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda acknowledges the crowd after hitting a fly out to end his streak of 12 consecutive at-bats with a hit during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Jose Miranda tips his helmet after setting a Twins record for reaching base safely in 12 consecutive plate appearances during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to return Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near-constant worries for his physical safety in order to fulfill a promise — “really an obligation,” he said recently — to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I'll probably start off by saying, ‘As I was saying ...’” the Republican presidential nominee has joked, in a bit of black humor about a speech cut short when a bullet struck Trump's ear and he was whisked off stage — fist aloft — with blood dripping across his face.
Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also will be on hand at the Butler Farm Show grounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign elevates the headline-generating potential of his return with just 30 days to go in their tight campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The campaign is predicting tens of thousands of people will attend what is being pitched as a "tribute to the American spirit.” Local hotels, motels and inns are reportedly full and some eager rallygoers were already arriving Friday, according to a local Facebook page.
“President Trump looks forward to returning to Butler, Pennsylvania to honor the victims from that tragic day," said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. "The willingness of Pennsylvanians to join President Trump in his return to Butler represents the strength and resiliency of the American people.”
Trump will use the 5 p.m. Eastern time event to remember Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter struck and killed at the July 13 rally, and to recognize the two other rallygoers injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.
How Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day and scramble on top of a building within easy shooting distance of the ex-president is among myriad questions that remain unanswered about the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. Another is his motive, which has never been determined.
Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that “everyone is doubling down on their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly.”
Mike Slupe, the county sheriff, told the station he estimates the Secret Service — which has undergone a painful reckoning over its handling of two attempts on Trump’s life — is deploying ”quadruple the assets” it did in July.
Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county — where turnout hovers around an impressive 80% — with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of Butler County’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared with about 29% who are Democrats and 14% something else.
Three months later, townspeople are divided over the value of his return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump's last visit fanned political tensions in the city.
“Whenever you see people supporting him and getting excited about him being here, it scares the people who don’t want to see him reelected,” she said.
But Trump needs to drive up voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris, too, has targeted her campaign efforts at Pennsylvania, rallying there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states.
The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Jacob Tampa does pushups to try and warm up as people arrive and wait in line before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Dan Beasley of Northville, Mich., prays with Sue Hensal of Akron, Ohio, before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A memorial for firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded family members from gunfire, is seen in the bleachers before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
