Jose Miranda didn’t score a run in the Twins’ 9-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday, and he drove in just one run.
No player was cheered louder.
Miranda tied a Major League record, becoming the first player in 72 years to have 12 hits in 12 consecutive at bats.
It was a series of four games and eight pitchers. When Miranda flew into left field in the sixth inning, he received two separate standing ovations from the announced Target Field crowd of 31,431. He waved in appreciation, and then Carlos Correa gave him a sideways hug as they walked to their defensive positions.
Miranda called it “cool” and “pretty special,” but it was a feat that stunned many of his teammates. The only other three players in major league history to have a 12-hit streak in 12 at-bats were Walt “Moose” Dropo (1952), Pinky Higgins (1938) and Johnny “Noisy” Kling (1902).
“Listen, I can’t even put that into words,” Byron Buxton said. “I think the most hits I’ve seen were eight or nine in a row, and I’ve been in the pro game for a number of years now. To actually see it, it’s unbelievable. That’s extraordinary stuff.”
Manager Rocco Baldelli said: “I mean, there are no real words. You just have to stop talking and enjoy it.”
Miranda reached base for 13 consecutive plate appearances, a team record. It’s the longest streak in the majors since Boston’s Kevin Youkilis in 2009. Miranda took a 96-mph sinker to his left hand in the first inning, the ball landing under a pad he wears.
After a lengthy visit from trainer Nick Paparesta, who confirmed there was no broken bone, Miranda didn’t throw away his swing. He hit an RBI single to center in the second inning and singled again in the fourth.
“Every time I played with him, he just raked,” said Twins rookie Brooks Lee. “He raked live [batting practice] at bats, he rakes in the spring, he rakes during the season. That’s just what he does.”
The Target Field crowd groaned as Miranda hit a pitch foul by a few feet in the sixth inning. Two pitches later, the streak was over.
Miranda raised his batting average from .294 to .329 in four games during his historic streak.
“It was nice to see him not put pressure on himself,” Buxton said. “Every day he came in here, he was just the normal Jose, not, ‘Oh snap, I got a shot.’ He didn’t care. He walked in here the same way every day. That shows you how much he is as a person, not just a player.”
It’s fitting that Miranda’s record-breaking run coincided with the Twins’ biggest offensive performance through three games of the season, as they’ve scored a combined 33 runs in their last three games.
There may not have been a more untouchable pitcher than Astros right-hander Hunter Brown over the past month. He has given up one run in his previous five starts. He has given up just four hits in his last 12 innings.
On Saturday, however, the Twins scored seven runs in the first three innings and every starting batter had a hit in the fourth inning.
“It’s a little different in the dugout because it’s like you’re not sitting down,” Buxton said. “‘Here we go! Here we go!’ And then you get up and you’re like, wham, here we go again. That’s the fun of it.”
The Twins, who have won nine of 13 games, opened the first inning with three singles to take an early 2-0 lead. Miranda and Carlos Santana extended the second inning with back-to-back two-out RBI singles.
Lee, the No. 9 batter, hit his first career homer in the third inning, a two-run blast over the wall in right-center field. Lee has seven hits and six RBI in his first four games.
Buxton added a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and he pumped his fist as his line drive sailed into the left field seats. It was meaningful to him because he’s been working on hitting breaking balls before games, and he hit a slider.
Joe Ryan struck out eight batters in 5⅔ innings, allowing five hits and three runs. The Astros loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning to put the tying run on the board, but Twins reliever Jorge Alcala got an inning-ending flyout from Mauricio Dubón on his second pitch.