Josh Bell homers twice as Twins beat Astros 6-3 in game delayed nearly 2 hours by rain

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Josh Bell homered twice and drove in four runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 6-3 on Monday night.

The game was delayed 1 hours, 57 minutes due to rain and lightning in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Twins leading 3-0.

Bell homered in the second inning to open the scoring, then took Astros starter Tatsuya Imai (1-2) deep to left for a two-run shot in the fourth. It was the 12th multi-homer game of Bell’s 11-year career.

After play resumed, Bell drove in his fourth run with an RBI single in the sixth.

Houston threatened in the first against Minnesota's Kendry Rojas, a reliever who opened and threw four innings. Rojas loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a single before recording an out. But he escaped by inducing an infield fly and a double play.

Rojas allowed two hits and struck out three in his first career start. He debuted on April 22 and has made three relief appearances.

Eric Orze (2-1) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Taylor Rogers got the last two outs for his first save.

Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña was activated Monday after missing time with a right hamstring strain. He led off for Houston and drew a walk in his first plate appearance since April 11. The injury-riddled Astros began the series without Jose Altuve, who landed on the injured list with an oblique strain.

RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3, 6.86 ERA) takes the mound for Houston on Tuesday after winning two of his last three starts. Minnesota will give RHP Zebby Matthews (1-0, 0.00) his second start of the year he worked seven scoreless innings in his debut.

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Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai stands on the mound as Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, May 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kendry Rojas delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Grounds crew members place a tarp over the field during a rain delay in the fifth inning of a baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell, foreground, run the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins'Josh Bell, left, hits an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi were set to hold their fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, underscoring their push to deepen ties between the historical Asian rivals in the face of geopolitical challenges.

Lee will host Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern South Korean city famous for a centuries-old traditional folk village that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In January, the two met in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, an ancient Japanese capital.

The meetings mark the first time sitting leaders of the two countries have visited each other’s hometowns.

South Korea’s presidential office expressed hope that Tuesday’s summit would strengthen mutual trust between Lee and Takaichi. Takaichi told reporters Tuesday morning she hopes the talks will deepen cooperation “under the severe geopolitical conditions such as situations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.”

The summit's official agenda includes economic and energy cooperation, the Iran war and development of their bilateral ties, which have no current sticking points. Experts say the meeting likely will proceed smoothly and the relationship will remain on a positive trajectory for now.

“The two countries put more emphasis on agenda for cooperation than contentious issues,” said Choi Eunmi, a Japan expert at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “They would now think scenes of constantly fluctuating relationship or eventually negative bilateral ties won’t be helpful to anyone now.”

South Korea and Japan are both key U.S. allies with vibrant democracies. But their relationship has long experienced severe ups and downs over grievances stemming from Japan’s 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II.

Relations began improving in 2023 when Lee and Takaichi’s predecessors took steps to move beyond history disputes and strengthen cooperation, saying they faced common challenges like the U.S.-China strategic competition, supply chain vulnerabilities and North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal.

When Lee and Takaichi each took office as new leaders last year, observers worried about Takaichi’s reputation as a right-wing security hawk and anticipation that Lee, a political liberal, would tilt toward North Korea and China and away from the U.S. and Japan. But they have maintained cooperation, even in some unprecedented ways.

In August, two months before Takaichi’s inauguration, Lee became the first South Korean leader to choose Japan as his first destination for a bilateral summit. At the end of their meeting in January, Lee and Takaichi drummed to K-pop hits such as BTS’ “Dynamite” in a jam session arranged by the Japanese leader, a heavy metal fan who was a drummer in her college days.

Lee has said he and Takaichi share a view that national leaders must act differently than ordinary politicians. But many observers say the two leaders also likely feel the need to tighten cooperation because they have more grave geopolitical difficulties than their predecessors such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s America-first policy and global economic damage caused by the Iran war.

South Korea and Japan both have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. business investments. Trump’s tariff war and his transactional approach to security threaten the trust in the U.S. held by many South Korean and Japanese.

Ties between Seoul and Tokyo are so delicate they could suffer unexpected setbacks if they fail to formulate coping measures for explosive issues such as Japan’s colonial-era mobilization of Koreans as forced laborers and sex slaves, according to experts, who say wrangling over those issues has eased as the two governments try to avoid public discussions.

“Both countries aren’t talking about how to resolve and prevent recurrences of conflicts over those issues and we don’t know when they could occur again,” Choi said.

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, third from right, is greeted upon arrival at the Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Yoon Kwan-shick/Yonhap via AP)

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, center, inspects an honor guard upon arrival at the Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Yoon Kwan-shick/Yonhap via AP)

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves upon arrival at the Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Yoon Kwan-shick/Yonhap via AP)

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves upon arrival at the Daegu International Airport in Daegu, South Korea, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Yoon Kwan-shick/Yonhap via AP)

File - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pose as they visit the Western Precinct or Saiin Garan, at the Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara prefecture, western Japan, Jan. 14, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP, File)