10 at-bats, 10 hits -- Miranda makes Twins history

MINNEAPOLIS -- When hitters are in the midst of a hot streak, they sometimes say the ball looks as big as a beach ball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. Jose Miranda wouldn’t make a direct comparison, but he acknowledged he’s been on a bit of a heater this week.

Miranda set a Twins record in Friday's series-opening 13-12 loss to the Astros with a hit in his 10th straight at-bat over a span of two-plus games.

• Most consecutive at-bats with a hit

"It looks pretty good right now, I can tell you that,” Miranda said of what he’s seeing in the batter’s box these days. "But it’s the same mentality at-bat after at-bat, pitch after pitch."

It’s been virtually the same result as well. Miranda singled in his final at-bat on Wednesday and went 5-for-5 with three doubles on Thursday against Detroit before beginning Friday night’s attack against Houston with a single in the second inning.

He homered to deep left in the third, then doubled down the left-field line in the fifth for his ninth straight hit, tying a record previously accomplished three times in the Twins' Minnesota era (since 1961) -- by Tony Oliva in 1967, Mickey Hatcher in 1985 and Todd Walker in 1998.

Miranda made the record his own in the seventh inning when he hit a chopper through the right side of the infield for a single against Houston reliever Bryan Abreu. Second baseman Jose Altuve was shading up the middle and had no chance to make a play.

"I saw where they were playing. Obviously, he was throwing pretty hard, so I wanted to hit it hard; it ended up going that way,” Miranda said. “So, it was pretty good that they were shifting.”

Miranda’s spot was due up second in the ninth inning, but with the Twins trailing 13-5 at the time, manager Rocco Baldelli opted to pinch-hit for Miranda, keeping the streak alive for Saturday’s game.

"Those guys, they play virtually every day and they’re doing a good job,” Baldelli said. “In an eight-run game, they’ve been on their feet for a while. No reason not to get them off."

The move almost backfired on Baldelli, because Austin Martin’s pinch-hit single kicked off a seven-run rally that cut the Astros’ lead to 13-12. Martin -- not Miranda -- was in the on-deck circle when Manuel Margot struck out to end the game.

"I understand all the moves he wants to make,” Miranda said of his manager. "But I was ready for the at-bat if I had it. Same mentality.”

Teammate Carlos Correa, who clubbed the Twins' first grand slam of the season in that seven-run ninth inning, has been in the corner of his fellow Puerto Rican since the day they met. Correa supported Miranda through an injury-riddled 2023 season. Now, both Miranda and the Twins are reaping the benefits.

"To see him flourish and become the man and the guy that he’s become in the lineup, it’s unreal,” Correa said. “I’m very proud of all the work he’s put in, all the rehab he had to go through last year when people were not believing in his potential and I still was. I think I said it in ‘22 that he was one of the untouchable pieces at the Trade Deadline, because I believed in his bat. I’m glad he’s making me feel like I know a little bit about baseball."

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no player in the MLB Expansion Era has reached base on hits in 11 straight plate appearances.

Miranda will try to do just that on Saturday against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. But regardless of how it shakes out, it’s been a week that few around the Twins clubhouse will forget anytime soon.

"He’s been hitting everything,” teammate Pablo López said. “He’s been on pitches that are away from him -- he shoots them to the opposite side. Pitches that are close to him he pulls for extra-base hits. He’s on everything. Good contact after good contact.

"He looks comfortable in the batter’s box. Sometimes you see guys, they foul a ball off and they’re like, ‘Ah, that was my pitch!’ He fouls a ball off and he’s just like, ‘My pitch hasn’t come yet.’ And when the pitch comes, he puts it in play for a base hit."