The Minnesota Twins picked up a sweep in their first series after the All-Star break as Alex Kirilloff’s four RBI and a solo home run by Christian Vázquez helped the Twins earn a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday afternoon.
Jordan Diaz gave the Athletics an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the top of the third. Aledmys Diaz followed up with an RBI double later in the third inning before Vázquez put Minnesota on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Get outta here ball!
Christian Vazquez puts the #MNTwins on the board with a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/UIboBJXpZY
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 16, 2023
This set the stage for Kirilloff, who hit a solo home run later in the fifth inning to cut the lead down to 3-2. After hitting his first bomb since June 16, Kirilloff delivered in the top of the seventh, clearing the bases with a double to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.
KIRILLOFF CLEARS THE BASES #MNTwins | #MLB pic.twitter.com/3bM9pE2VLL
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 16, 2023
Zack Gelof drove in a run on a double off Jorge López in the bottom of the seventh inning but Emilio Pagán tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief before handing it off to Jhoan Duran, who allowed a double to Shea Langeliers for his third save of the series.
Joe Ryan made the start for the Twins allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings. López allowed one run over 1.1 innings to earn his third win of the season. Vázquez went 2-for-3 with his second home run of the year while Kirilloff also finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and four RBI.
The Twins improved to 48-46 on the season and will head to Seattle to open a three-game series with the Mariners on Monday night. All-Star Sonny Gray (4-3, 2.89 ERA) will take the mound opposite Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (7-5, 3.66 ERA) in Monday’s opener.
