Field Level Media
Apr 4, 2021
Max Kepler drove in three runs and Luis Arraez had three hits and walked twice to lead the Minnesota Twins to an 8-2 win over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon.
Mitch Garver and Miguel Sano each homered as well to help the Twins win their second straight game and secure a series victory.
Michael Pineda (1-0) allowed one unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings.
Garver, who went 2 for 3, broke a tie at 1 in the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run to right field off a 94-mph fastball from Brewers starter Adrian Houser.
The Twins tacked on four more runs the following inning on Kepler's two-run single and Sano's first homer of the season. Sano smacked a low liner off a 97-mph fastball from Drew Rasmussen that just snuck over the wall in right field for a two-run home run.
Houser (0-1) took the loss after tossing five innings and allowing two runs on four hits. Houser had four strikeouts and two walks.
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit Milwaukee's first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth with a solo blast to center off Twins reliever Cody Stashak. Hansel Robles and Jorge Alcala pitched three combined scoreless innings in relief for Minnesota.
The Brewers' best chance came in the bottom of the fifth inning. But Pineda worked out of trouble by striking out Keston Hiura with two on and one out and Avisail Garcia two batters later with the bases loaded and two outs.
Arraez scored the Twins' first run in the top of the first inning. He singled and came around to score three batters later on a Kepler groundout that followed a Byron Buxton double.
The Brewers tied it in the bottom of the second, capitalizing on a fielding error at second by Jorge Polanco that allowed Bradley Jr. to reach base. Luis Urias doubled and then Bradley Jr. scored on a sacrifice fly by Manny Pina.
--Field Level Media