Twins blow homecoming for Duffey in 8-5 loss to Astros

HOUSTON Maybe when he thinks back years from now on his first major-league game in his hometown, Tyler Duffey can forget the ending. The Twins would like to.

Duffey, who grew up about 10 miles from Minute Maid Park, was brilliant in his homecoming, outdueling Cy Young candidate Dallas Keuchel for six innings. But when he departed in the seventh with a 2-0 lead, the game blew up on the Twins, who eventually swallowed a difficult 8-5 loss to the Astros. Trevor May surrendered a grand slam, and the lead, to Jed Lowrie, Neal Cotts gave up a three-run blast to Jake Marisnick, and the Twins dropped a series for the first time since they were in Yankee Stadium three weeks ago.

The Twins actually outhomered Houston 3-2 on the day, and that’s an amazing statistic unto itself. Keuchel had allowed only one home run in Minute Maid Park all season, and had never in his career given up three in a game here. But Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar and Aaron Hicks all connected against the left-hander, pelting the left-field concourse with hanging breaking balls.

The big difference: All three Twins home runs came with nobody on base. The Astros’ home runs came with five baserunners in total, a deficit the Twins could not overcome, not against one of the AL’s best pitchers.

Keuchel had never trailed by two runs during a home game all season a remarkable statistic considering Sunday was his 16th start here but Dozier and Escobar’s homers changed that. And it looked like Duffey, pitching before several dozen sometimes noisy friends and family members in the crowd, would make that lead hold up. He matched his career high with eight strikeouts and twice pitched out of trouble after giving up a leadoff double.

When he reached 97 pitches with two runners on base and two outs in the seventh inning, however, manager Paul Molitor turned the game over to May, who had given up only one run, and allowed only one inherited runner to score, in his last nine appearances.

This time was different, though. May walked pinch-hitter Preston Tucker to load the bases, then got Jose Altuve to hit a chopper to between third and short that nobody could reach in time. That scored one run, and four more followed quickly, when May left a 2-and-1 changeup in the middle of the plate to Lowrie, who had homered the night before, too. Lowrie’s second career grand slam landed three rows deep in the right-field stands, helping Keuchel improve to 13-0 at home this season.

Minnesota mustered a rally with Hicks’ home run in the eighth, and added two more runs in the ninth off Astros reliever Chad Qualls, with Escobar driving in a run with a sacrifice fly and Kennys Vargas contributing a two-out single that scored Torii Hunter, who collected his first three-hit day since Aug. 7. But closer Luke Gregerson was summoned to snuff the Twins’ late comeback, and he retired Hicks on a fly out to earn his 26th save.

Keuchel was particularly tough on Twins rookie Miguel Sano, who struck out in all four plate appearances Sunday, giving Sano six consecutive whiffs. Sano, battling a hamstring injury to stay in the lineup, has struck out nine times in his last 10 at-bats.

The Twins departed Houston after the game, headed for another series with another first-place team. They open a three-game set with the Royals in Kansas City on Monday night.

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