Trevor Larnach scorched a three-run homer, Brooks Lee went deep and the Minnesota Twins opened their seven-game road trip Monday night with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Larnach struck his big blow in the second inning and finished 1-for-3 with two runs and two walks for Minnesota (75-62). Lee went 2-for-4 and added a double. Royce Lewis (double, RBI) and Jose Miranda also had two hits apiece.
Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson was gifted a two-run lead but lasted only 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Jorge Alcala (4-3) earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball. He struck out three.
For Tampa Bay (67-70), Junior Caminero was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, run and a walk. Jonny DeLuca had two hits, including a solo homer, and a stolen base. Josh Lowe added two hits, a run and a stolen base, while Dylan Carlson drove in two runs.
In his first action since Aug. 14 due to shoulder fatigue, Rays starter Zack Littell (5-9) surrendered four runs on seven hits in four innings. He walked four and fanned two.
Lewis put the visitors on the board by stroking a two-out double right over the third base bag to score Larnach, but the Rays answered with two tallies in the bottom half after Woods Richardson retired the first two batters.
Following a walk by Caminero, Josh Lowe singled then stole second. Carlson’s two-run single put the Rays up 2-1.
In the second, Larnach ripped a three-run shot to right for his 15th deep ball and a 4-2 lead. The homer off Littell’s 86 mph slider lasered out at 112.5 mph off the bat, carrying a low-flying 19 degrees.
Caminero chipped into the lead with a sharp double to plate Brandon Lowe in the third, but the bullpens soon settled the game down and the Twins maintained the one-run advantage.
That changed in the eighth when Lee led off against reliever Garrett Cleavinger and blasted an 0-1 cutter to center that center fielder DeLuca nearly grabbed on a leap against the wall.
Lee’s third homer sailed 409 feet and put the Twins up 5-3, but DeLuca slugged his fifth deep shot in the bottom half.
Closer Jhoan Duran fired a perfect ninth, ending it with a whiff of Caminero, for his 21st save in 23 chances.
