Larnach launches game-winner for Twins' 19th straight game with a HR

June 30th, 2024

SEATTLE -- made sure that the Twins’ flight back home would be a happy one, providing a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to power Minnesota to a 5-3 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sunday.

Larnach came to the plate after Jose Miranda laced a one-out single to left and popped Ryne Stanek’s 0-1 splitter a Statcast-projected 406 feet to center, out of the reach of a leaping Julio Rodríguez and two rows into the seats.

Beyond giving the Twins the win -- and their third consecutive series victory on a nine-game West Coast swing -- Larnach’s blast made it 19 consecutive games for the club with at least one home run, a new franchise record. They’ve hit 30 home runs in that span, behind only the Orioles, Yankees and Padres.

The shot was Larnach’s eighth home run of the season, but his first since June 16; coming into the day, he was hitting an even .200 since that last homer, with just one multi-hit outing.

It didn’t take long for him to begin changing things on Sunday. In the first inning, after Willi Castro led off with a single and stole second, Larnach flipped a single to center for his first RBI of the series.

Then the left fielder gave the Twins the knockout blow they needed, after former teammate Jorge Polanco tied things up at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh.