Twins' Starter Joe Ryan - David Berding/Getty Images
There were early fireworks in the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros American League Division Series game today. But five Astros’ pitchers threw darts the rest of the evening and Houston held on to secure a 3-2 win to close out the series.
Early Fireworks
The Twins landed the initial punch in the first inning. After Joe Ryan had retired the Astros in order in the top of the inning, Royce Lewis strode to the plate with two outs. And just has he has all year; he delivered a clutch long ball. He nailed a home run to left field to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.
The Astros answered back immediately in the second inning when Michael Brantley launched a ball over the right field fence to tie the game. The Astros did not play him in Game 3 as they have been using him selectively since he had shoulder surgery in 2022.
The hot Jose Abreu put Houston in front in the fourth inning with a two-run dinger. He bashed his third home run in the last two nights over the right field fence. The ball took about a second to leave the ballpark as Abreu completely crushed a Caleb Thielbar fastball.
Twins Bats Go Quiet
After the Lewis home run, Houston starter Javier Urquidy silenced the Twins bats until the sixth inning when one of Minnesota’s rookies played long ball. With one out and no one on, Eddy Julien hit a solid opposite field rocket over the left field wall to cut the Astros lead to one.
But the Twins bats went silent after that and now Houston heads to its seventh straight American League Championship Series. They will face the upstart Texas Rangers in what is being called “The Battle of Texas.” The series starts Sunday in Houston.
And for the Twins, it starts an offseason of tinkering with a lineup that played exceptionally well down the stretch. The team should be in search of a right-handed power bat and some additional help for the bullpen.
The decision on whether to re-sign Sonny Gray should also loom large as the weather turns colder. But the team has an exciting young nucleus to work with and the future looks bright for the Minnesota franchise.
