MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Cave homered, doubled and drove in four runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the San Francisco Giants 8-3 to finish a three-game sweep Sunday.
Cave gave the Twins a 3-2 lead with his second homer of the season in the fourth inning. He added a two-run double in the fifth to cap a five-run rally that put Minnesota on top for good.
The Twins have won three straight following a six-game losing streak that knocked them out of first place in the AL Central.
Devin Smeltzer (5-2) earned his first win since June 23, when he was part of Minnesota’s rotation. Smeltzer threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Aaron Sanchez.
Michael Fulmer and Jorge López each pitched a perfect inning to end it.
Giants starter Jakob Junis (4-4) gave up six earned runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. The outing completed a rough month for Junis, who went 0-2 with a 7.13 ERA in five August starts.
Brandon Crawford singled three times and drove in a run for the Giants, who have lost eight of 10 and ended an eight-game road swing 2-6.
The lead changed hands five times before the Twins broke it open in the fifth. Max Kepler, Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela each had an RBI double before Cave drove in two more with another double.
Kepler and Carlos Correa both went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI for Minnesota. Correa was 8 for 12 with two runs and four RBIs in the series.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: 3B Evan Longoria left in the fifth with a tight right hamstring.
Twins: 2B Jorge Polanco (knee) remained sidelined after he was removed from Saturday’s game with patellar tendinitis.
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Carlos Rodón (12-6, 2.81 ERA) will face the Padres on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at home. The two-time All-Star is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA in his last five starts. He threw a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 3-1 victory at San Diego on July 9.
Twins: RHP Dylan Bundy (7-6, 4.56) will take the mound Monday as Minnesota opens a three-game series with the Red Sox at Target Field. In their first meeting this season, Bundy gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings on April 18 as the Twins won 8-3 in Boston.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports