Justin Verlander takes no-hitter into eighth inning, Astros clobber Twins 5-0

Before the Twins and Astros took to Target Field as opponents Tuesday, they engaged in a bit of a family reunion.

Well, at least Carlos Correa did, fraternizing with his former teammates he calls brothers on the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2012 and with which he won a World Series ring. The shortstop had nothing but praise for his old organization, especially his heir at shortstop, rookie Jeremy Pena.

Correa watched the game from the dugout, out with a bruised finger, as Pena led the Astros to a 5-0 victory in front of an announced 16,156 fans, snapping a nine-game home winning streak for the Twins (18-12). Houston improved to 19-11.

Houston starter Justin Verlander held the Twins hitless into the eighth inning, when Gio Urshela lined a single to right field. It would have been the 316th no-hitter in major league history and the fourth for the two-time AL Cy Young winner, which would have ranked him along Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan as pitchers with four or more in their career.

As it was, the Twins narrowly avoided what would have been their 10th time being no-hit, the first time since May 2, 2012, against Anaheim’s Jered Weaver.

While the Twins offense struggled to produce without Correa and fellow star Byron Buxton — still dealing with hip tightness — Houston seemed to flourish, with Pena setting the tone. Correa recalled inviting Pena to take some ground balls with him in his last spring training with Houston, how he gave him a heads up shortstop could be open in a year. He said the same when Houston’s season ended in 2021.

“He’s everything I knew he could be,” Correa said pregame. “I know talent when I see it, and from the moment I saw him taking ground balls and hitting BP, when you look at his athleticism and his body, he’s going to be a superstar in this game.”

Pena drove in the Astros’ first two runs off Twins starter Joe Ryan in the second and fourth innings. Ryan let in one more run in the fifth off a Alex Bregman RBI double before he exited, allowing four hits and four runs, with five walks and three strikeouts.

Danny Coulombe came in with runners on second and third and allowed a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly but otherwise limited the damage. But he would also have to leave the game five pitches into his second hitter in the sixth inning with left hip inflammation. Jharel Cotton, who had just rejoined the team from Triple-A St. Paul, then ended up loading the bases before giving up a sacrifice fly to Bregman to make it 5-0.