PHOENIX – A day after the Twins' offense could seemingly do no wrong, it took them some time to find when things would finally go right. But the floodgates finally came open in the seventh when four singles – all hit 97 mph off the bat or harder – found the outfield grass, kicking off a Minnesota merry-go-round that saw them push three runs across. Combined with the starting stylings of right-hander Mike Paredes and a shutdown effort from the bullpen, the Twins claimed a 4-2 victory over the D-backs on Sunday at Chase Field, capping the road trip with a 5-1 record. The Twins hadn’t won a game in which they faced a pitcher making their Major League debut since April 1, 2025, when they toppled Shane Smith and the White Sox. They weren’t on a great trajectory through five innings on Father’s Day after being in the proverbial blender facing D-backs debuting right-hander Jose Cabrera. But once the bullpen door swung open, so did the Twins’ chances. That the deficit the Twins had to overcome was just two runs can largely be credited to Paredes, who was making his fifth appearance (third start) as a bulk pitcher at the big league level. The 25-year-old looked more like a traditional starter this go-round, tossing 75 pitches in an outing for the first time since Aug. 6, 2022, when he was with Single-A Fort Myers. In total, he worked a career-high five frames with just two runs allowed. “The thing with Michael, we know with how he was kind of programmed throughout the Minor Leagues that it's not going to be extended into six and seven innings,” said manager Derek Shelton. “I think the fact that he got us through the fifth -- and got out of that jam in the fifth -- was a huge statement. He just continues to get better.”
