Taj Bradley became the first pitcher in Twins history (1961) to retire 10 straight via strikeouts.

HOUSTON — Some pitchers are the weather delay guy. Some always seem to have their starts fall on day games. Apparently, Taj Bradley is the Minnesota Twins pitcher most likely to sit through long innings while his offense goes to town.

For the third straight start, the Twins offense gave Bradley plenty of time to leave an imprint of his body on the bench in the visiting dugout. Josh Bell, Luke Keaschall and Kody Clemens all homered, helping Bradley thrive despite several long waits as the Twins topped the Houston Astros 8-3 on Wednesday night at Daikin Park and clinched a second consecutive series win and a third straight series victory on the road.

Bradley made the most of his lavish support, striking out 11 batters in five innings, including retiring 10 straight via strikeouts between the first and fourth innings. In doing so, Bradley became the first pitcher in Twins history (1961) to record 10 straight outs via strikeouts, though it wasn’t in consecutive order as four batters reached base during the streak.

“I feel like I’m right where I need to be mentally, physically, everything,” Bradley said. “Not closer (to it), I’m at the destination. Now, it’s just keeping it, knowing who I am and staying on that track.”

After finding success earlier this season, Bradley struggled when he returned from a stint on the injured list. He was disheveled after a tough June 9 start in Detroit and in search of answers.

Though he wasn’t perfect in his next start after that, Bradley felt he could see light at the end of the tunnel. Now, he’s speeding through it, even if his offense is dragging out innings with great plate appearances.

Before he set foot on the mound Wednesday, Bradley had to sit and wait. Bell homered off Tatsuya Imai with two outs in the first inning to make it 2-0, and the Twins went on to load the bases and send eight batters to the plate.

An inning later, an early lead was stretched to 5-1 as Clemens belted a three-run homer and the Twins sent seven batters to the plate. Bradley said he’ll sometimes throw the ball in the tunnel to the clubhouse to stay loose. He also wears a towel to stay warm and, if an inning goes really long, he’ll do dynamic warmups to keep a sweat going.

“He’s done a really good job navigating it,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “He stayed in his delivery. … He had the ability to execute pitches. Overall, I thought he was really good.”

Two starts ago, Bradley sat through a 10-run inning in Phoenix. Last time out, the Twins scored seven runs for him against the Colorado Rockies.

“You can’t ask for too many runs as a pitcher,” Bradley said. “When they have that, I just figure out a way to stay hot and watch them grind.”

Here are more thoughts after a successful series in Houston:

• Bradley clapped heartily in appreciation when Keaschall ran down a drive off Jose Altuve’s bat on the warning track in the fifth inning. The running grab and an earlier play delivered more proof Keaschall is adapting nicely to playing in right field.

Early returns would suggest Keaschall is a pretty good outfielder. Aside from one teachable moment, Keaschall’s defense during the Twins’ previous homestand were smooth.

His play to rob Altuve made highlight reels and a fan of Bradley.

“Everybody’s hyped for him, especially playing a new position,” Bradley said. “I love it. He was out there last series at home and made plays down the line for me. It’s awesome. It shows how athletic he is, the ability to learn a new position and make some spectacular plays like that. Give him credit. He’s working hard pregame, and it shows.”

Keaschall appears to be learning quickly. He got too close to the right-field wall and let a carom kick past him that led to a triple in Saturday’s loss to Colorado, but Keaschall played a second-inning Cam Smith double perfectly Wednesday. Recognizing the ball would either go over the fence or hit off it, Keaschall backed off and cleanly fielded the ball.

“It’s more learning as we go, but I feel good out there, confident, relaxed,” Keaschall said. “I’ve got good people around me, so that helps a lot, too.”

After a slow start to the season, Keaschall’s been helping out the lineup by being an on-base machine, too. He reached base three more times in four trips Wednesday, including hitting a late home run to stretch the lead back to five runs.

Dating to May 2, Keaschall is hitting .274/.382/.376 in 186 plate appearances.

• The Twins need to figure out a way to get Roger Clemens to as many games as possible. Even more importantly, they need to get Kody Clemens’ grandmother there, too.

Clemens’ homer was the first in front of his “Nana.” He’s also hit so many in front of Roger, who was on the field before the game to honor area Little Leaguers, that Kody’s lost count.

Kody, who first started attending games regularly when his dad played for the Astros from 2004 to 2006, called his first homer in Houston a special moment.

“I had a ton of family here all week,” Kody Clemens said. “For me to do that, I always try so hard to do something cool in front of my friends and family. Sometimes I don’t get hits, which sucks. But it was awesome. … Nana is the GOAT.”

Bell also homered in front of a lot of friends and family, capping off a great month in Texas. He launched a 452-foot homer over the batter’s eye off Imai in the first inning.

“When I can look up and see like a 112 (mph), 113 and a 440-plus, 450-plus, that’s when I know I’m in a good place,” Bell said.

• Though the Twins pulled away, the defense caused several bouts of consternation, giving away too many outs.

Clemens made a throwing error that breathed life into a sixth-inning rally. Houston scored twice to make it a four-run game, and Andrew Morris was needed to escape the jam.

An inning later, Ryan Kreidler, Keaschall, Clemens and Tristan Gray couldn’t come up with Yordan Alvarez’s fly ball to short center, a ball that needed to be caught. Morris escaped with a double-play ball.

Then, in the ninth, Royce Lewis was charged with an error when he dropped what should have been the final out of the game.

Twins pitchers made enough big pitches and the offense delivered, or the bullpen could have been up against it late against a powerful Astros offense.

• There won’t be a timeline for his return until after he has a check-up, but the first indication is that Mick Abel’s arthroscopic right elbow surgery went well. Dr. Keith Meister performed the operation Wednesday.

“Overall, the initial response was very positive,” Shelton said.

• Ryan Jeffers (broken left hamate bone) hit for a third straight day, a sign he’s getting closer to starting a rehab assignment. Jeffers took batting practice with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints at CHS Field, Shelton said.

“The biggest thing for the hamate is just going to be the percussion or vibration of the bat,” Shelton said. “The fact that (Wednesday is) the first day he’s hit three days in a row is one of the things that kind of isolates on that.”

• Bailey Ober was scheduled for a light bullpen Thursday and could start for St. Paul on Saturday, Shelton said. Ober threw 57 pitches over 3 1/3 innings in his first rehab start Saturday.

• Kaelen Culpepper was named the Twins’ lone representative to participate in the All-Star Futures game later this month. One night after he was hit by a pitch in the left hand, Culpepper was out of the St. Paul lineup. Shelton said X-rays were negative.

Not only is he making necessary defensive improvements at shortstop, Culpepper also is hitting .272/.376/.492 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs in 295 plate appearances.