Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez and teammates celebrate a game-winning home run Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Slumping Twins catcher crushes walk-off homer

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jul 7, 2024 6:50 PM ET

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez has struggled at the plate throughout the season but came up clutch on Sunday.

With the Twins tied at 2-2 against the Houston Astros in the bottom of the ninth inning, Vazquez blasted a 362-foot home run off a 97 mph fastball from All-Star closer Josh Hader.

- !!!!#MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/yvwETG6BEG
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) July 7, 2024

Two-time World Series champion Vazquez – who entered Sunday's action having posted career lows in batting average (.196) and on-base percentage (.221) through 50 games – turned in one of his best performances this season in the thrilling win. Along with hitting the walk-off homer, he went 2-for-4 and drove in two additional runs.

The Twins have won two of three games in their last five series, per the Associated Press' Patrick Donnelley. If they keep finding ways to win more close games, they could catch up in the American League Central.
The Twins (51-39) are second in the division behind the Cleveland Guardians (56-32) and trail by six games. However, Minnesota (7-3) has a better record than Cleveland (5-5) over its past 10 games.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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