MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and rookie Jackson Chourio homered and drove in three runs to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a two-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with an 8-7 win at Target Field on Sunday.
With the game tied 5-all, Hoskins took Twins reliever Griffin Jax (3-4) deep to left for his 15th home run of the season. A fan leaned over the railing to catch the ball before Minnesota left fielder Austin Martin had a chance to make a play, but the call stood after review as he didn’t reach into the field of play.
“The mental toughness it takes to struggle the way he’s went through it, he’s come up with big hits,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Hoskins. “Every hit he gets is a big hit, it seems like.”
Eric Haase also hit two solo homers for Milwaukee, his sixth career multihomer game. Chourio hit a tying leadoff homer in the seventh after he ended the sixth inning with a leaping grab at the wall in foul territory down the left field line.
After the game, Chourio was asked which he enjoyed more: the catch at the wall or his 443-foot home run.
“I think hitting homers is one of my favorite things to do, so it’s got to be the homer,” Chourio said through a translator.
Minnesota’s offense loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth but couldn’t score a run against reliever Elvis Peguero.
The Brewers’ bats helped starter Aaron Civale overcome a rough outing. In his third start with the Brewers since being acquired via trade, Civale allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He also walked four batters, including a walk with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Jared Koenig (8-1) pitched a scoreless inning of relief in his return from injury to earn the win. Trevor Megill allowed two runs in the ninth but secured his 19th save of the season.
Twins starter Joe Ryan cruised through four innings, allowing just a solo homer to Haase before a three-run fifth punctuated by Chourio’s two-run double. Ryan was tagged for four runs in six innings.
“His breaking ball was sharp today. Overall, I thought pretty good stuff,” Haase said of Ryan. “Fortunately, he made a couple mistakes and we put some pressure on him early.”
Byron Buxton homered twice for the Twins in the loss, both solo shots.
The start of Sunday’s game was delayed 49 minutes due to rain.
ROSTER MOVES
Milwaukee reinstated Koenig (left forearm tendinitis) from the 15-day injured list and made room on the roster by designated RHP Joel Kuhnel for assignment. The Brewers also acquired LHP Tyler Jay from the Mets in exchange for RHP TJ Shook and optioned Jay to Triple-A Nashville. … The Twins placed LHP Cody Funderburk on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled RHP Ronny Henriquez from Triple-A St. Paul.
UP NEXT
RHP Tobias Myers (6-3, 3.13 ERA) will start Milwaukee’s series opener Monday against the Chicago Cubs. RHP Bailey Ober (8-5, 4.14) takes the mound Monday for Minnesota as they open a three-game series against Philadelphia.
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