Tucker Davidson tossed six strong innings and Luis Rengifo drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
Davidson (2-3) allowed two runs over six frames in his second start since being acquired from the Atlanta Braves. The Angels won for the fifth time in their last six games.
Jaime Barria pitched two scoreless innings before Jose Quijada retired the Twins in order in the ninth for his third save.
Byron Buxton hit a two-run home run for Minnesota, which has dropped five of its last six.
Minnesota jumped on Davidson in the first inning when Carlos Correa drew a one-out walk and scored on Buxton’s opposite-field homer to right field.
The Angels pulled even in the third when David Fletcher extended his hit streak to eight games with a two-out single and moved to second on Shohei Ohtani’s five-pitch walk.
Rengifo then drove both runners in with a double to the left field corner.
Los Angeles moved ahead in the fourth after Jo Adell hit a leadoff double and scored on Kurt Suzuki’s sacrifice fly.
Twins starter Chris Archer (2-6) departed after giving up three runs on four hits over four innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Davidson settled in after allowing Buxton’s first-inning blast, yielding four hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Minnesota, which went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position in Saturday’s 5-3, 11-inning loss, continued to struggle to execute in the series finale.
The Twins had Buxton at third with two outs in the sixth, but Davidson struck out Jorge Polanco to end the threat. Minnesota finished the series going 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-4 Sunday.
The Angels extended their lead in the seventh on Ohtani’s one-out RBI single against Michael Fulmer.
Fletcher and Jared Walsh had two hits apiece for the Angels, who have won two consecutive series for the first time since mid-May.
–Field Level Media
