Twins sweep Angels, extend winning streak to seven with 11-5 victory

ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was only a week ago when the Twins had one of the worst-performing offenses in the major leagues and their record slumped to six games below .500.

Now they are achieving feats that haven't been done by Twins teams in over a decade.

Nine Twins batters contributed to their 17-hit barrage in Sunday's 11-5 victory over the reeling Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium, their second straight night with at least 17 hits. The Twins won their seventh consecutive game, matching the franchise's longest winning streak in nearly 13 years.

The Twins posted a double-digit hit total during all seven games during their winning streak, sweeps over the Angels and Chicago White Sox. It's the first time since 2006 the Twins finished seven consecutive games with at least 10 hits.

During the winning streak, the Twins beat up on two teams that hold a combined 16-40 record, but their offense is doing all the things they didn't do earlier in the season. They delivered six hits Sunday with a runner in scoring position. Seven hits came in two-strike counts. In the seventh inning, Alex Kirilloff hit a two-run, ground-rule double with the bases loaded, just the club's second hit with the bases loaded this year.

The Angels, who have lost nine of their past 10 games, didn't help themselves with three errors, four walks and a hit batsman. It was the first time the Twins swept the Angels since a three-game sweep in 2019.

The Twins didn't have any baserunners in their time through the lineup against Angels lefty Reid Detmers. There were three hits in the fourth inning, including a two-out RBI single to left field from Jose Miranda, and the offense was back on track.

There were four straight Twins hits to open the fifth inning and they all turned into runs. Austin Martin drove in two runs with a single through the left side of the infield, Kyle Farmer scoring from second base on an aggressive wave from third-base coach Tommy Watkins. Martin scored when Ryan Jeffers dropped a single between outfielders, and the ball bounced past right fielder Jo Adell.

The Twins had their first four batters reach base in the seventh inning via two walks and a single before Kirilloff's double bounced into the stands after dropping down the line in fair territory. With two outs, Willi Castro poked an RBI single to right field.

The offense picked up Pablo López, who had an uneven five-inning outing. There were at least some small concerns about López after he experienced a dip in velocity in his last start. He lasted only four innings, matching the shortest start in his Twins career.

The Twins saw two versions of López on Sunday. He retired his first 14 batters, compiling eight strikeouts through his first four innings. He recorded strikeouts with his fastball, changeup, curveball and sweepy slider, displaying command for all his pitches.

Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe broke up López's no-hitter on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the fifth inning, and López unraveled. Jo Adell was awarded an RBI double on a ground ball that deflected off the glove of diving third baseman Jose Miranda.

After López surrendered his first run, Luis Rengifo lifted the next pitch, an inside fastball, over the wall in right field for a two-run homer. Nolan Schanuel, the next batter, made it back-to-back homers when he pulled an inside fastball down the right-field line.

Five straight Angels batters reached base against López, four of them in two-strike counts, after López overpowered them in their earlier at-bats. López's velocity dipped in the fifth inning, throwing 93-mph fastballs instead of the 95-96 mph pitches he showed in the first few innings.