HOUSTON -- Once in a while, you’ll get that heartwarming moment where a player picks up a first career strikeout or clubs a homer while members of his family are being interviewed on the broadcast -- and those lead to some of the most fun reactions for everyone to share.

Simeon Woods Richardson, unfortunately, got the opposite end of that as part of his first career start in his hometown on Sunday, when his mom, Wendy Blair-Woods, was in the act of being interviewed on television by reporter Julia Morales when Woods Richardson allowed a second-inning blast to Victor Caratini -- with the interview cutting off shortly thereafter.

“I know! I heard someone actually say, ‘Yeah, he kind of fell apart after they put mom on camera,’” Blair-Woods said. “I'm like, ‘Ohhh! Did I jinx him?’”

She did not, considering she’s been there from childhood to pro ball -- and the Twins ended up winning anyway. Thanks to two late RBI knocks by Jose Miranda, Minnesota claimed its fourth consecutive series victory by coming from behind in a 4-3 win over the Astros on Sunday at Minute Maid Park -- and a triumphant homecoming for Woods Richardson.

Woods Richardson had no idea of any jinx or home run interview, anyway.

“I mean, I’m just trying to pitch a ballgame,” Woods Richardson said. “Handle the task at hand.”

With the return of Royce Lewis now imminent and expected to occur on Tuesday, Miranda continued to assert his case for why he’s earned a continued place on this team by crushing a game-tying blast to left-center off Hunter Brown in the sixth, then followed it with an RBI double off Ryan Pressly in the eighth to erase an early 3-2 Minnesota deficit.

Those three runs had been given up on a pair of homers by the Astros off Woods Richardson, who had been staying at home in Sugar Land -- in the southwestern suburbs of Houston -- on this trip and had grown up a big Astros fan, to the point where he had one of his childhood birthday parties in the outfield upper deck at Minute Maid Park.

So, he’d known the risks of pitching in Houston and leaving hittable pitches to Caratini while his mom was on camera, then to Alex Bregman for a two-run blast in the third.

“I’ve watched games all my life here,” Woods Richardson said. “So knowing that they have the Crawford Boxes, that’s easy for righties, and for lefties, you have a short porch as well, so I just want to try and learn how to pitch around them and maneuver in the different ballparks.”

Woods Richardson didn’t know of his mom’s on-camera moment, but he had heard his dad, Arthur Woods, bellowing, “Yeah, baby!” from his seats behind home plate, as has been their custom throughout the right-hander’s career.

Any time his family can be at his starts, they’re there -- and that’s gotten tougher of late, as Woods Richardson has established a firm place as the fifth starter in the Twins’ rotation, meaning they have more frequent big league starts to try to see.

The family was confused why Woods Richardson was pulled in the fifth inning, after only 66 pitches, but that’s a testament of the 23-year-old just continuing to do the job the Twins need him to do: keep the team in games, and on days with a rested bullpen like Sunday, hand the game to them with the score in reach.

He did just that -- and the bullpen and Miranda came through for the win. That’s why the Twins are 7-2 this season with Woods Richardson on the mound.

“I thought Sim pitched actually well today,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Yeah, he gave up a couple of homers, but he made a lot of good pitches to a lot of hitters.”

Woods Richardson’s family did get to see more of him than the shortened outing on the mound, though, as he told his mom on Saturday that a few of his friends would come over for dinner, a few hours before a full catering squad arrived at the family’s house to prepare oxtail, pasta, lobster, sushi and salmon as a get-together and token of thanks.

“Next thing I know, all these caterers are bringing in all of this stuff and setting it up on the bar,” Blair-Woods said.

“It's kind of good for him to just exhale and be around his friends and family and buddies and girl friends. He's not SWR. He's just Sim.”