Jose Miranda matches MLB record in Twins victory

Jose Miranda didn’t score any runs during the Twins’ 9-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday, and he drove in only one run.

No player drew louder cheers.

Miranda matched a major league record and became the first player in 72 years to record 12 hits in 12 consecutive at-bats.

It was a streak that spanned four games and eight pitchers. When Miranda flew out to 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 side hug as they walked toward their defensive positions.

Miranda called it “cool” and “pretty special,” but it was a feat that left many of his teammates stunned. The only other three players in big league history who had a stretch with 12 hits 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 done saw was eight or nine in a row, and I’ve been in pro ball now for some years. To see it in person, that’s incredible. That’s extraordinary stuff.”

Said manager Rocco Baldelli, “I mean, there are no real words. You’ve just got to stop talking and enjoy it.”

Miranda reached base in a team-record 13 consecutive plate appearances, the longest streak in the majors since Boston’s Kevin Youkilis in 2009. Miranda was hit by a 96-mph sinker on his left hand in the first inning, the ball sneaking under a pad he wears.

After a long visit from trainer Nick Paparesta, confirming there wasn’t a broken bone, Miranda didn’t throw away his shot. He hit an RBI single to center in the second inning, and he singled again in the fourth.

“Every time I’ve played with him, he just rakes,” Twins rookie Brooks Lee said. “He rakes in live [batting practice] at-bats, he rakes in spring, he rakes during the season. It’s just what he does.”

The Target Field crowd groaned when Miranda lined 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 fun to see him not put pressure on himself,” Buxton said. “Every day he walked in here, he was like the normal Jose, not, ‘Oh snap, I’ve got a chance at this.’ He didn’t care. He walked in here every day the same. That just shows how much who he is as a person, not just a player.”

Fittingly, Miranda’s run at the record books coincided with the Twins’ biggest three-game offensive outburst of the season, as they totaled 33 runs in their past three games.

There might not have been a pitcher more untouchable than Astros righthander Hunter Brown over the past month. He gave up one run across his previous five starts. He gave up only four hits in his last 12 innings.

On Saturday, though, the Twins had seven runs in the first three innings, and every starter had a hit by the fourth.

“It’s something different in the dugout because it’s like you don’t sit down,” Buxton said. ” ‘Here we go! Here we go!’ Then you get back up, and it’s like, wham, here we go again. That’s the fun part 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, hammered 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, pumping his fist when 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 connected on a slider.

Joe Ryan struck out eight in 5⅔ innings while yielding five hits and three runs. The Astros loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Twins reliever Jorge Alcala induced an inning-ending flyout by Mauricio Dubón on his second pitch.