What would Miranda have done if they actually played 9-innings?
Jose Miranda went 5 for 5 with three doubles, four runs scored and three RBIs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 12-3 on Thursday in a game called in the seventh inning due to rain.
"Yeah, and he's been swinging the bat just like we saw today," said manager Rocco Baldelli. "He's been swinging like that for a while. We get a chance to talk about him today and single him out with a five hit game. Makes sense. I like talking about guys when they get five hit games and it is special, but he's been giving us great at bats, man. Just hitting balls on the screws, using the middle of the field, doing all the things you want to see, shortening up with two strikes and still finding a way to find the barrel. He has been exactly where we want him to be."
The start was moved up an hour with threatening weather in the forecast. Rain began to fall steadily in the fourth, play was finally stopped in the bottom of the seventh and the game was called following a 30-minute delay.
Ryan Jeffers had three hits and four RBIs for the Twins, including his team-leading 14th homer. Max Kepler added two hits and two RBIs.
“As a team, we’re clicking. Everyone is (having) some good at-bats,” said Miranda, whose five hits were a career high. “There’s not a single hitter you can say is an easy (out) for our team. That’s a great thing to have.”
Bailey Ober (8-4) allowed three runs — one earned — on seven hits and struck out eight in six innings to win his third straight decision. Minnesota has won six of its last seven series.
"Bailey was great, you know," Baldelli said. "Early on, he throws the 0-2 pitch that he would like to probably do again. But other than that, it was a pretty good outing. Like everything that you saw from him was right on target, which you wanted to see. Changeup was fantastic, the fastball up was fantastic. Today when he needed to throw strikes, he was throwing strikes. So, I thought he looked real good."
Next up come last year's playoff opponent, the Houston Astros.
SERIES PREVIEW
Houston Astros (45-42, second in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (49-38, second in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Friday, 7:10 p.m. Pregame 6:30 on WCCO Radio and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Shawn Dubin (1-1, 4.91 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 27 strikeouts); Twins: Pablo Lopez (8-6, 4.88 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 110 strikeouts)
Saturday: Brown (Houston) vs. Ryan (Twins)
Sunday: Arrighetti (Houston) vs. Woods Richardson (Twins)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Twins -159, Astros +133; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins take on the Houston Astros after Jose Miranda had five hits on Thursday in a 12-3 win over the Tigers.
Minnesota has a 49-38 record overall and a 25-17 record in home games. The Twins have gone 36-6 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Houston is 21-23 in road games and 45-42 overall. Astros hitters are batting a collective .264, the best team batting average in the AL.
The teams meet Friday for the fourth time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan Jeffers ranks second on the Twins with 30 extra base hits (16 doubles and 14 home runs). Byron Buxton is 14-for-37 with seven doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI over the past 10 games.
Jose Altuve has 17 doubles, 13 home runs and 39 RBI while hitting .308 for the Astros. Yainer Diaz is 17-for-43 with two doubles over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 7-3, .274 batting average, 3.20 ERA, outscored opponents by 23 runs
Astros: 8-2, .288 batting average, 2.70 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
INJURIES: Twins: Royce Lewis: 10-Day IL (abductor), Brock Stewart: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Chris Paddack: 15-Day IL (arm), Alex Kirilloff: 10-Day IL (back), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Zack Weiss: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Jake Bloss: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Victor Caratini: 10-Day IL (hip), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (neck), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Tucker: 10-Day IL (shin), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.