Dallas Keuchel takes perfect game to seventh inning, Twins beat Pirates

Dallas Keuchel pitched 6 1/3 perfect innings en route to his first win in over 15 months as the minnesota twins defeated the pittsburgh pirates 2-0 in the decider of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Keuchel (1-1) allowed just one hit, an opposite-field double off Bryan Reynolds’ right-field wall on a 3-1 pitch in the seventh. Griffin Jax then replaced Keuchel, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, and struck out Andrew McCutchen and Ke’Bryan Hayes to end the inning.

Keuchel, 35, released three times during a 2-9 campaign in 2022, was making just his third start of the season coming off a 13-2 loss at Philadelphia on Aug. 11 when he allowed six runs. on six hits in just 1 2/3 innings.

The 2015 Cy Young Award winner, who did not strike out a batter in his first two starts of the season, finished with three strikeouts. He threw a season-high 85 pitches, 53 strikes, and recorded 10 ground balls to earn his first win since a 3-2 victory in Boston on May 8, 2022, while with the Chicago White Sox.

Donovan Solano doubled, singled and two runs, and Edouard Julien doubled and drove in two runs for Minnesota. Jhoan Duran earned his 23rd save with a scoreless ninth.

Osvaldo Bido (2-4) took the loss, allowing two runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings. He hit one batter and struck out six. Reynolds finished with two hits, including a two-out infield single off Duran in the ninth.

Minnesota took a 1–0 lead in the fourth inning when Solano led off with a single, advanced to third on Carlos Correa’s single, and scored on Julien’s sacrifice fly.

He Twins extended their lead to 2–0 in the sixth when Solano led off with an opposite fielder over the head of right fielder Henry Davis and scored two outs later on Julien’s double that cleared the left wall.

—Field level media