PHOENIX – A day after the Twins' offense could seemingly do no wrong, it took them some time to find when things would finally go right.
But the floodgates finally came open in the seventh when four singles – all hit 97 mph off the bat or harder – found the outfield grass, kicking off a Minnesota merry-go-round that saw them push three runs across. Combined with the starting stylings of right-hander Mike Paredes and a shutdown effort from the bullpen, the Twins claimed a 4-2 victory over the D-backs on Sunday at Chase Field, capping the road trip with a 5-1 record.
Through the front six frames, the Twins were in the proverbial blender facing D-backs debuting right-hander Jose Cabrera. The rookie sequenced his pitches so that hitters infrequently saw the same offering on consecutive pitches, particularly the second time through the lineup.
But once the bullpen door swung open, so did the Twins’ chances. And they walked right through.
Royce Lewis kicked off the seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single, giving him hits in 11 of 14 June contests. Ryan Kreidler followed suit with two outs and then manager Derek Shelton used his weapon off the bench – Josh Bell – to keep the frame going with an RBI knock. Alex Jackson found a hole to the opposite field, and a throwing error from D-backs right fielder Corbin Carroll allowed Bell to score.
That the margin was just two runs entering that frame can largely be credited to Paredes, who was making his fifth appearance (third start) as a bulk pitcher at the big league level. But the 25-year-old looked more like a traditional starter, tossing 75 pitches in an outing for the first time since Aug. 6, 2022, when he was with Single-A Fort Meyers, en route to five frames with just two runs allowed.