Twins' Jorge Polanco Hits Three Run Home Run Against Houston - Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
Everything looked lost for the Minnesota Twins as they took on the host Houston Astros in Game 1 of their AL Division series. First, they failed to score off of Astros starter Justin Verlander. He scattered four hits and allowed three walks in six shutout innings of work.
And Twins starter Bailey Ober and his relief, Kenta Maeda got torched by the potent Houston lineup. Jose Altuve hit a solo home run to left field in the first inning. And Yordan Alvarez launched a three-run dinger in the third inning to extend the Astros lead to 4-0.
Twins Stage a Comeback
Houston tacked on another run in the fifth and it looked like the Twins would go quietly into the night. But in the top half of the seventh, the Twins decided to play some long ball of their own.
With Ryan Jeffers and Matt Wallner on base, Jorge Polanco blasted a ball in the second deck to close the gap to 5-3 Astros. Hitting after Polanco, Mr Clutch, Royce Lewis rocketed a ball into the left field stands to cut Houston’s lead to one.
Alverez Hits Another Dinger
Alvarez would strike again with a solo shot to right field to increase the Astros lead to 6-4. Did the Twins have one more comeback left in them to snatch the victory away from Houston?
Alas, Minnesota was shutout the rest of the way by the Astros bullpen. This included a stellar scoreless ninth inning by ex-Twin Ryan Pressley who was credited with the save.
Twins Look to Game 2
The two teams tangle again tomorrow night at Minute Maid Park. The Twins will start fireballer Pablo Lopez and the Astros will send out 12 game winner Framber Valdez. Minnesota hopes to even up the series in Game 2 and head back to the friendly confines of Target Field.
