MINNEAPOLIS — The storm that prematurely ended Wednesday's game was over by Thursday, but the downpour that has afflicted the Twins' pitching staff this week — Houston's powerful lineup — was not.
The Astros tacked on six more runs in one sudden outburst when the game resumed, and waltzed to an 11-3 victory at breezy Target Field on Thursday.
The game resumed where it was suspended more than 16 hours earlier, with Houston leading 5-1 in the fourth inning, and the Astros resumed battering Twins' pitching. Rookie Yennier Cano retired the first six hitters of his major-league career, but things changed in the sixth inning, when Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker lifted a fly ball through the wind and into the right-field seats.
Cano allowed two more hits before being lifted for righthander Cody Stashak, who surrendered three consecutive RBI doubles and a single, giving Houston six consecutive hits and firm control of the game.
Stashak eased the bullpen's workload on a day with 15 innings scheduled, retiring the Astros without a run in the seventh and eighth innings. Utility man Nick Gordon, son of an All-Star relief pitcher, became the first position player to take the mound for the Twins this season. He left to a loud ovation after pitching a shutout ninth inning.
The Twins added a pair of runs, one driven in and one scored by rookie outfielder Mark Contreras, who made his major-league debut by giving Byron Buxton the remainder of the first game off.
The Astros have outscored the Twins 16-3 in the first two games of the three-game series.
The day's regularly scheduled game will pitch Twins righthander Josh Winder, who has yet to allow an earned run as a starter, against Houston righthander Luis Garcia as Minnesota tries to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season.
