Major League Baseball
Minnesota 9, LA Angels 5
When: 8:10 PM ET, Monday, July 3, 2017
Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature: 80°
Umpires: Home - Lazaro Diaz, 1B - Jeff Nelson, 2B - Doug Eddings, 3B - Stu Scheurwater
Attendance: 36182

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rookie Adalberto Mejia gave up three consecutive hits to the Los Angeles Angels to start the fourth inning on Monday, ending his streak at 13 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Mejia stayed composed and demonstrated the growth he has made for the Minnesota Twins this season. The left-hander settled in and lasted through the seventh inning, surrendering only one additional run.

It was a much-needed start for Minnesota from someone not named Ervin Santana or Jose Berrios, and it led to a 9-5 win over the Angels in the opener of a homestand.

"I was always calm," Mejia said through an interpreter. "I kept thinking about getting the batters out and I just stayed calm."

Minnesota's Max Kepler had four hits, including a solo homer, and drove in three runs, and Joe Mauer added a two-run homer.

Named to his first All-Star game on Sunday, Miguel Sano added three hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who finished an 11-game, three-city road trip on Sunday with their sixth loss in eight games. The Twins started play Monday with the lowest home winning percentage in baseball at .390 (16-25).

Mejia (4-3) allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out five and became the first Minnesota pitcher to complete six innings since Berrios on June 26, a span of eight games.

Mejia was the first Twins pitcher other than Santana or Berrios to record an out in the seventh inning since Mejia did so on May 21. He has stranded 20 of the past 23 baserunners he has allowed.

"I just think he's starting to trust that his stuff can play up here," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. "It's nice when he's using all his pitches. The changeup's obviously is a good pitch, but the slider when he stays on top, we saw some good swings and misses down and in to the righties.

"But, yeah, I think that the more success that comes his way in terms of going deeper in games and putting wins next to his name, I think he feels better about what he's doing."

Angels starter Alex Meyer (3-5) again ran into control issues. He made it through five innings but surrendered five runs on six hits and four walks. He also hit a batter to go with six strikeouts.

"There's no doubt that rate is unsustainable. If you're going to give up one hit an inning also, you're going to be in trouble," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "One thing that helps Alex is he's got a high strikeout rate. ... Hopefully as he starts to get refined, (he will) harness what he can do. It's hard to see the forest through the trees sometimes, but look where he was last year at this time."

Luis Valbuena and Martin Maldonado homered for Los Angeles, which has lost four of its past five games.

Making his first start in Minnesota since being traded last year by the Twins to Los Angeles, Meyer balked in a run in the second inning. Mauer homered on the next pitch, sending a 2-2 fastball over the heart of the plate deep to the bullpen in left-center field for his fifth of the year.

"Frustrated from that (balk), and I let it override me in the next at-bat and a pitch right down the middle and they took advantage of that," Meyer said. "It's frustrating. I got to be better. You get better at handling it probably than I was. I was confused, I honestly didn't know what I did. Umpire's telling me I was moving my leg, and I didn't think I was. I'll have to look at it."

The Twins kept adding on runs against Meyer and reliever Yusmeiro Petit. Sano scored from first on Kepler's double in the third. Kepler led off the fifth with his 10th homer of the year, and Sano added a two-run double in the sixth off Petit.

Valbuena hit a towering homer to right field estimated at 459 feet to start the seventh, his sixth of the season. Andrelton Simmons had his third hit of the game in the eighth, and Maldonado followed with his ninth homer of the year.

NOTES: Twins 2B Brian Dozier was scratched from the lineup due to lower back tightness. Manager Paul Molitor said he woke up with back spasms. The team said he is considered day to day. ... The Angels announced OF Mike Trout would be held out of the All-Star game as he recovers from left thumb surgery. Trout was elected to start for the fifth straight year but won't be ready in time. Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout would begin playing rehab games this week at Class A Inland Empire. ... Los Angeles RHP Matt Shoemaker will make a rehab start on Tuesday with Inland Empire as he tries to return from a right forearm extensor strain. Shoemaker is scheduled to pitch three or four innings and around 45 to 50 pitches. ... Following the game, Minnesota reinstated INF Ehire Adrianza from the disabled list after he finished rehab games for abdominal issues. DH/1B Kennys Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after going 1-for-4 with a walk.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Minnesota
Alex Meyer Player Adalberto Mejia
Loss W/L Win
5.0 IP 7.0
6 Strikeouts 5
6 Hits 9
9.00 ERA 3.86
Hitting
LA Angels   Minnesota
Andrelton Simmons Player Max Kepler
3 Hits 4
2 RBI 3
0 HR 1
3 TB 8
.750 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 12 2 19 .324 13 5 5 1 0 0
Minnesota 13 2 22 .361 18 10 7 5 1 0