BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — Joe Ryan pitched six innings of four-hit ball, striking out nine, and Ryan Kreidler drove in three runs with a fourth-inning homer as the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. Ryan (3-3) allowed one earned run and walked none. Andrew Morris worked a perfect ninth for his first save. Victor Caratini also homered, a solo shot in the second inning, and finished 2-for-4. Mike Burrows (2-6) took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits over six innings with two strikeouts. Houston scored first in the top of the second on Christian Vázquez’s RBI single, but Caratini tied it in the bottom half. Kreidler’s three-run blast to left-center in the fourth put Minnesota ahead for good. The Astros managed five hits and fell to 20-31. The Twins improved to 23-27. Attendance was 23,522. The game lasted 2 hours, 15 minutes.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — Joe Ryan struck out nine over six innings and Ryan Kreidler hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. The Twins evened the three-game series at one win apiece after dropping Tuesday’s opener 2-1. Minnesota improved to 23-27, while Houston fell to 21-31. Ryan (3-3) allowed four hits and one earned run, walked none and fanned nine. He retired the final seven batters he faced after a shaky start and exited with a three-run lead. Andrew Morris earned his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning, striking out one. Houston starter Mike Burrows (2-6) took the loss after allowing six hits and four earned runs over six innings. He struck out two and walked two. The Astros struck first in the top of the second inning. Zach Dezenzo singled, Cam Smith singled and Christian Vázquez lined a single to center field, scoring Dezenzo to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Minnesota answered in the bottom half. With one out, Victor Caratini launched a solo home run to center field, his second of the season, tying the game 1-1. The contest remained tied until the bottom of the fourth. Caratini led off with a single, and Tristan Gray walked. Kreidler then drove a 1-0 pitch from Burrows over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer, his third of the year, giving the Twins a 4-1 advantage. Minnesota threatened for more later in the inning when James Outman doubled, but Burrows escaped further damage by retiring Byron Buxton on a lineout. From there, Ryan took command. He set down the Astros in order in the fifth and sixth innings, striking out three of the final six batters he faced. Yoendrys Gómez followed Ryan with two perfect innings of relief, striking out five. Morris worked a 1-2-3 ninth, fanning one. Houston managed only five hits in the game. Jeremy Peña singled in the first inning, Dezenzo and Smith each singled in the second, and Vázquez had the run-scoring hit. Smith singled again in the eighth for the Astros’ last baserunner. Minnesota collected six hits. Caratini went 2-for-4 with his homer and an RBI. Outman doubled, and Kody Clemens singled. The Astros had won Tuesday’s series opener behind a strong pitching performance, splitting the first two games of the set. Houston entered the series after dropping three of four at home to Texas and losing two of three to Seattle the previous week. Minnesota came into the game having lost two of its previous three series, including a split with Milwaukee and a series loss to Miami. The Twins will travel to Boston for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday. Houston heads to Chicago to face the Cubs in a three-game set starting Friday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota Twins 5, Houston Astros 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Minnesota with a 50.60 percent probability to win. Minnesota had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 8.

AP Sports Preview MINNEAPOLIS (Interstat) -- The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins meet Wednesday afternoon at Target Field in the finale of a three-game series, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. under cloudy skies and a temperature of 52 degrees. Houston (19-30) has dropped four of its last five games and fell 3-6 to Minnesota on Monday in the series opener. Right-hander Mike Burrows (2-5, 4.91 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros after being recalled from Triple-A. The club also listed right-hander Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.72) as a potential starter, though no official announcement has been made. Minnesota (22-26) snapped a two-game skid with Monday’s win and has taken two of three in the season series. Right-hander Kendry Rojas (3-2, 3.12) is expected to oppose Burrows, though the Twins have not confirmed. Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who started Monday and took the loss, allowed three earned runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. Imai has struggled in his past two outings, posting a 9.35 ERA over 8 2/3 innings. He is not scheduled to pitch Wednesday. Twins designated hitter Josh Bell has been productive against Houston. Bell went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in Monday’s win, giving him three homers in his past five games. Over his last 10 games, Bell is batting .290 with four home runs and 11 RBIs. The Interstat game simulator projects a 5-4 Twins victory. Minnesota is a -1.5 run favorite, and the over/under is 8. Houston has lost eight of its last 10 road games and is 8-17 away from home. Minnesota is 11-12 at Target Field. After Wednesday’s game, the Astros travel to Chicago for three games against the Cubs starting Friday. The Twins visit Boston for three games beginning Friday.