Larnach Delivers Twice, Bradley Dominates as Twins Top Angels 4-2
Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, doing damage in both the third inning and the eighth to power Minnesota past Los Angeles 4-2. Taj Bradley was the engine behind it all, spinning 7.0 innings of 2-run ball with 6 strikeouts.
Los Angeles struck first. Josh Lowe sent a 405-foot shot to right center in the second inning to put the Angels up 1-0, and for a moment it looked like Jose Soriano might be able to protect a lead. He couldn't. Minnesota answered immediately in the third, and that's where the game turned. Larnach singled to right, scoring Keaschall and moving Kreidler to third — a play that swung Minnesota's win probability from 53% to 67%, a 15-point jump that reframed the entire contest. Jeffers then doubled to left, scoring both Kreidler and Larnach, and just like that the Twins had a 3-1 lead they'd built in a single inning against a pitcher who finished the day with 0 strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
The Angels weren't finished. Denzer Guzman launched a 357-foot solo shot to left in the seventh to cut it to 3-2, and with Bradley still on the mound and Mike Trout going 2-for-4 on the day, the Angels had enough life to make things interesting. Bradley, to his credit, held the line — he finished with 7.0 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and 6 strikeouts. That's a quality start with teeth. Andrew Morris then came on and threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 2, effectively slamming the door on any Angels rally.
Larnach made sure of it anyway. In the eighth, he hit a 405-foot home run to right — his second contribution of the night — to push Minnesota back to a two-run cushion at 4-2. That's the story of this game: the Angels had the pieces to make noise, with Guzman, Lowe, and Trout all making contact, but they couldn't string enough together against a Minnesota pitching staff that looks, at least tonight, like it's operating at a different level. Chase Silseth was sharp in relief for Los Angeles — 1.2 innings, 0 hits, 4 strikeouts — but it was too little, too late. Minnesota wins 4-2, and Larnach's fingerprints are all over it.