Astudillo got the start at catcher and hit ninth Wednesday, going 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 4-3 win over the Cleveland.
His third-inning shot off Adam Plutko got the Twins on the board, and gave Astudillo his first career big-league homer. The 26-year-old is still only slashing .269/.296/.462 through his first 11 games in the Show, but Minnesota has little to lose by giving him regular playing time in September to see if he can factor into the organization's plans for 2019 and beyond.