Carter's 2 HRs, 5 RBIs Lead Astros Over Twins 10-4

HOUSTON -- Chris Carter has been the hottest hitter in the majors since July 1.

Houston's slugger is certainly happy with his recent streak but wishes he'd been able to get on track earlier in the season.

Carter homered twice and matched a career high with five RBIs to lead the Astros over the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Tuesday night.

The game was tied in the third inning when Carter's two-out, two-run drive to the Crawford Boxes in left field put Houston up 3-1.

Carter connected again on his next at-bat with a three-run shot in the fifth which chased Minnesota rookie starter Yohan Pino (1-5).

Carter leads the majors with 15 homers since July 1 and his six multihomer games this season ties a franchise record set by Lance Berkman in 2006. Tuesday was his second multi-homer game in a week and his 28 home runs are third in the American League and just one shy of his total in 2013.

His recent streak has upped his batting average to .230 from a season-low .181 on July 1. He's powered the Astros offense while starters George Springer and Dexter Fowler have been on the disabled list.

Collin McHugh (5-9) allowed four hits and a run in six innings for the win.

Oswaldo Arcia homered twice for the Twins for his first career multihomer game. He gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead in the second inning and added a two-run shot in the ninth.

Jake Marisnick, who finished with two hits, tied it with a solo homer to start Houston's third before Carter's first home run put Houston on top.

Minnesota's Joe Mauer singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 14 games in his second game back from the disabled list.

Pino allowed a season-high seven runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings for his third straight loss.

"We just didn't pitch well enough (Tuesday)," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They made us pay every time we made a bad pitch in some bad situations."

Bob Levey/Getty Images

More Twins News