The Minnesota Twins defeated the Los Angeles Angels 10-5, with home runs from Kyle Farmer, Matt Wallner, and Carlos Santana, providing a much-needed boost to their struggling offense.
Farmer hit a crucial three-run homer in the second inning, while Wallner and Santana also contributed with homers to help snap the Twins’ four-game losing streak.
Pablo López (15-8) earned his fourth straight win, striking out 10 batters over seven innings without allowing an earned run. He held off a three-run homer by Zach Neto in the fifth inning that cut the Twins’ lead to 6-4.
López acknowledged the team’s recent struggles but expressed optimism, saying, “We’re used to playing loose and having fun. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”
Despite having lost 15 of their last 21 games, the Twins (77-68) maintained a three-game lead in the race for the final AL wild-card spot with 17 games remaining. Detroit (74-71) is the closest challenger, and Minnesota trails Cleveland by six games in the AL Central.
Wallner added a solo home run in the third inning and a two-run double in the sixth that chased Angels starter Griffin Canning (5-13) from the game. Canning gave up a career-high 10 runs on nine hits and three walks, with one run being unearned due to an error by first baseman Nolan Schanuel.
Trevor Larnach reached base all four times with a single and three walks, scoring three runs. Ryan Jeffers contributed two RBIs, while Santana hit his team-leading 21st home run of the season, deepening Canning’s road woes, as the Angels pitcher fell to 0-10 in 13 away starts.
