Twins' Starter Sonny Gray - MLB.com/via X
The Minnesota Twins fell to the Houston Astros 9-1 in the third game of their American League Division series. And though the game was not close score-wise, it was ultimately decided by which team made the best decisions on pitch selection.
The Astros waited patiently for Sonny Gray’s off-speed pitches. Conversely, Twins hitters swung at too many Cristian Javier balls that were out of the strike zone. For the Astros, it was a combination of smart pitching and patient hitting.
Houston Goes on Top Early
Houston jumped on the Twins early and never looked back. In the first inning, Kyle Tucker singled to left field to score Jose Altuve for the games’ first run.
And the next hitter, Jose Abreu would ultimately deliver all of the runs that the Astros would need to clinch this game. With two men on, Abreu launched a rocket that reached the left field second deck for his first home run of this postseason. And just like that, Houston was on top 4-0, and the game was not even an inning old.
The Twins Fall Further Behind
The Astros next two insurance runs both came off of the bat of third baseman Alex Bregman. In the fifth inning he hit a home run that barely cleared the left field fence to extend Houston’s lead to 5-0. And in the sixth inning, he drilled a single to centerfield to plate Jeremy Peña. At this point, the Twins hopes were quickly fading.
Meanwhile, Houston starter Javier threw a mixture of mainly four seam fastballs and a wicked slider to confound the Twins for five innings. He tallied nine strikeouts and enticed the Twins to swing at numerous pitches out of the zone.
Twins Attempt a Rally
The Twins did show some spark in the sixth inning. Willi Castro drove in Carlos Correa to cut into the Astros lead. Minnesota had two runners on and one out. The Twins fans started to make some noise anticipating a big inning from their home team.
Unfortunately for them, their hopes would soon be dashed. Twins’ catcher. Ryan Jeffers smashed the ball up the middle that was speared by the Astros Peña. He turned and fired the ball to Altuve at second base who in turn relayed the ball to first baseman Abreu to complete the double play. Inning over.
And to add insult to injury, the Twins would surrender two more long balls in the ninth inning that padded the Astros lead. First, Abreu crushed a solo dinger that once again would reach the Target Field left field second deck.
Alvarez Strikes Again
Then the Twins killer, Yordan Alvarez hit his fourth home run of the series to complete the debacle. He has been the hottest hitter in baseball since the beginning of September.
The Twins did have their chances. Although they registered only three hits, they did coax seven walks out of five Houston pitchers. But the Houston hurlers were able to limit the damage stranding nine Twins’ base runners.
Tomorrow’s pitching matchup will pit the Twin’s Joe Ryan against the Astros’ Jose Urquidy. With a win, Houston can wrap up the series and await their opponent in the American Championship series. For the Twins, they hope to win and send the series back to Houston for the deciding Game 5 scheduled for Friday afternoon.
