MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Archer kept his strong June going with five scoreless innings, and three Minnesota Twins relievers closed out a one-hitter in a 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.
A day after being shut out themselves, Luis Arraez and the Twins had 10 hits in a dominant victory. Arraez — the big league batting leader — had two hits, Alex Kirilloff drove in three and Byron Buxton marked his return to the lineup with an RBI triple in the first inning.
Archer (2-3) struck out five and walked one while matching a season high in innings — four of which were perfect. In five June starts, the right-hander has allowed four earned runs over 23 innings for a 1.57 ERA.
Twins pitchers have combined for shutouts in two of the past three games.
Antonio Senzatela (3-4) surrendered four runs on eight hits in five innings for Colorado. The Rockies’ lone hit was a single by C.J. Cron leading off the second.
After losing 1-0 to Colorado on Friday, Minnesota jumped on Senzatela quickly.
Arraez led off the first with a double and Buxton followed with a triple to center. He slid into third, got up and pumped his fist, yelling towards the Twins’ dugout.
Buxton missed three games with a lingering knee issue before pinch-hitting late in Friday’s game.
OLD TIMER
Rockies closer Daniel Bard turned 37 years old Saturday, becoming one of 26 active major leaguers 37 or older. Bard’s age wasn’t lost on his teammates.
In Bard’s locker stall in Minnesota, there was a sign with phone numbers to AARP and Life Alert along with a wheelchair nearby.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: OF Kris Bryant doubled in a game with Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday night, the first hit in 10 at-bats of his rehab assignment. He’s been out since May 22 with a lower back strain.
Twins: OF Trevor Larnach was placed on the 10-day injured list with a core muscle strain. Larnach said he’d been dealing with pain the past few weeks that had gotten worse recently. OF Mark Contreras was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul.
UP NEXT
RHP Joe Ryan (5-3, 3.00 ERA) starts Sunday’s series and homestand finale for Minnesota. RHP Ryan Feltner (1-2, 5.46) will start for Colorado. Ryan has allowed seven runs in 10 2/3 innings in two starts since recovering from COVID-19. Feltner gave up four earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings in his last start at Miami.
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