The Twins ended their long holiday homestand with some fireworks in the ninth inning Sunday.
Christian Vázquez led off the ninth with a home run to give the Minnesota Twins a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros to take the series before they hit the road for six games prior to the All-Star break.
Vázquez, who had two hits and drove in all three Twins runs, hit a full-count sinker from Josh Hader (3-5) high and deep to left field for his fourth homer of the season.
“I think it’s fun to hit in the ninth against the closer,” Vázquez said. “I get locked in there.”
Jhoan Duran (4-3) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win.
The Twins have taken two of three games in each of their last five series. The team’s offense has especially come alive of late, banging out 42 hits in the three games against Houston.
“I think our offense is very dangerous,” Vázquez said. “One through nine, everyone puts something on the table to win. So, we never give up, and that’s the beauty of this game,”
Minnesota’s Simeon Woods Richardson had one of his best starts of the season. The rookie right-hander gave up two earned runs over six innings and retired the last 13 batters he faced.
CORREA ALL-STAR
It started ominously for Twins shortstop Carlos Correa on Sunday. He left the game in the first inning after being hit on the right hand by a pitch. The team announced that initial scans were negative and Correa was diagnosed with a finger contusion.
“I will be playing tomorrow,” said Correa, who had his finger wrapped after the game.
But there was other good news for Correa. He’s been rewarded for his first-half performance by being named to the American League All-Star team. It’s Correa’s third All-Star Game selection and his first in a Twins uniform.
"Special because, you know, this is my home here in Minnesota now and to get my first All-Star game here with this team, it's truly special," Correa said. "Because I want to go out there and do my best and they give me the contract and I want to go out there and play the best I can for my team, for the fans of this city and just help win ball games. And I feel like this first half has been really good for me and it just feel good to be able to contribute to the team with such high expectations."
It was June that really got Correa into baseball's midsummer showcase.
He hit a .388/.441/.582 and was named to MLB's Team of the Month for June. Correa's season average is now up to .305 with an .884 OPS.
TWINS-WHITE SOX SERIES PREVIEW
Minnesota Twins (51-39, second in the AL Central) vs. Chicago White Sox (26-66, fifth in the AL Central)
Chicago; Monday, 7:10 p.m. 6:30 p.m. pregame on WCCO Radio and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply).
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Paddack (5-3, 5.29 ERA); White Sox: Chris Flexen (2-7, 5.08 ERA)
The Twins was eligible to come off the IL and was named the starter late Monday morning.
Tuesday: Ober (Twins) vs. Fedde (Chicago)
Wednesday: Woods Richardson (Twins) vs. Thorpe (Chicago)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Twins -189, White Sox +158; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago White Sox host the Minnesota Twins to start a three-game series.
Chicago has a 16-29 record in home games and a 26-66 record overall. The White Sox are 14-53 in games when they have given up at least one home run.
Minnesota is 51-39 overall and 24-21 on the road. The Twins have a 19-9 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The teams play Monday for the eighth time this season. The Twins are up 7-0 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paul DeJong leads Chicago with 16 home runs while slugging .445. Luis Robert is 13-for-41 with three home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.
Ryan Jeffers leads the Twins with 14 home runs while slugging .481. Jose Miranda is 19-for-34 with four doubles, a home run and 10 RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 5-5, .253 batting average, 3.35 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: White Sox: Max Stassi: 60-Day IL (hip), Dominic Leone: 60-Day IL (right elbow), Dominic Fletcher: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Mike Clevinger: 15-Day IL (elbow), Yoan Moncada: 60-Day IL (abductor), Jimmy Lambert: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Matt Foster: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jesse Scholtens: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Twins: Carlos Correa: day-to-day (hand), Austin Martin: 10-Day IL (oblique), 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)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.