Trevor Larnach homers to back up a strong start by Pablo López as Twins beat Astros 6-1
HOUSTON — Pablo López pitched seven strong innings and Trevor Larnach hit a two-run homer to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
“He pitched great and he had a pretty good changeup today,” manager Rocco Baldelli said of López. “He attacked with his fastball really well and I think he threw enough good offspeed pitches to get what he was looking for.”
Carlos Santana added a solo home run and Willi Castro tripled to help the Twins to their fourth victory in five games.
López (5-5) allowed six hits and a run with six strikeouts as he tied his longest start of the season. He bounced back after three tough starts during which he gave up a combined 25 hits and 16 runs.
“The last couple of games were a little rough (and) the box score (said) things that you never want to see as a starting pitcher,” he said. “But it’s just a testament to staying true to the process, not wanting to change too much and simplifying things.”
Alex Bregman went deep in the third inning for his third home run in four games, but the Astros couldn’t do much else on offense in their fourth loss in five games.
