Connor Prielipp allowed two hits over a career-high seven innings and fellow rookie Walker Jenkins went 3-for-4 with a home run as the Minnesota Twins registered a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in Anaheim, Calif.
Prielipp (6-7) walked two and struck out eight. He left after throwing 92 pitches, 60 for strikes. Travis Adams pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his third save.
Jenkins, who began his career going 4-for-45, homered for the second straight game on his sixth consecutive hit in the series. Brooks Lee added two hits and a run for Minnesota (72-82), which evened the four-game series at one win apiece.
Jose Siri had two hits for Los Angeles (59-95). Grayson Rodriguez (4-8) gave up three runs on eight hits with no walks in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and threw 91 pitches, with 66 going for strikes.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to start the game and advanced to third on a single by Lee. Kody Clemens then hit into a fielder’s choice with Keaschall getting thrown at home following a lengthy rundown that allowed Lee and Clemens to advance to second and third.
Ryan Jeffers followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Lee, and Josh Bell drove in Clemens with a single to center.
Los Angeles nearly cut the lead in half in the sixth inning when Zach Neto led off with a long drive to left, but Emmanuel Rodriguez jumped up at the fence to rob him of a home run.
Jenkins then made it 3-0 in the seventh when he lined his third home run 357 feet off the foul pole netting in right.
The Angels loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Tommy Nance in the eighth on back-to-back singles by Christian Moore, snapping an 0-for-21 drought, and Wade Meckler and a walk to Neto. But Nance got out of the jam with consecutive strikeouts of Mike Trout and pinch hitter Josh Lowe followed by a lineout to left by Vaughn Grissom.