Minnesota – The Houston Astros traveled to Minnesota to face the Twins in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
The series was tied 1-1 in Houston, with the Astros winning Game 1 and the Twins winning Game 2.
Christian Javier was the Astros’ Game 3 starter against the Twins’ Sonny Gray.
Astros star Jose Altuve opened the game with a leadoff single to center field.
After Alex Bregman struck out, Yordan Alvarez loaded the bases on an error and moved Altuve to third.
Next, Kyle Tucker singled to left field, easily bringing Altuve home for an early 1-0 lead.
Tucker and Alvarez both reached base, and Jose Abreu hit a home run to left field to give the Astros a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
At the end of the first inning, the Astros led 4-0.
The second inning was scoreless and the Astros took a 4-0 lead heading into the third inning.
In the top of the third inning, Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit a double to right field. However, Kyle Tucker doubled out, Jose Abreu struck out, and Yainer Diaz was thrown out on a strike.
Entering the fourth inning, the Astros led 4-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Mauricio Dupont singled to left field, Jeremy Pena flew out to right field, Martin Maldonado also flew out to right field, and Jose Altuve was hit. Out. The score remained unchanged entering the bottom of the fourth inning, 4-0 to the Astros.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Carlos Correa’s shallow infield grounder, Alex Kirilloff’s grounder to second base, and Matt Wallner’s duel Foul prompts strikeout. Entering the top of the fifth inning, the Astros still led 4-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, Alex Bregman hit a 353-foot home run to left field to extend the Astros’ lead to 5-0.
The next batter, Yordan Alvarez, hit a double and Kyle Tucker was walked. With two men on base now, the Twins are changing pitchers. Entering the bullpen, Emilio Pagan replaced Twins starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Jose Abreu popped to second base after a long at-bat, Yanier Diaz swung out and Mauricio Dubon flew out to left field. The Astros extended their lead to 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, Willie Castro was walked, Ryan Jeffers flew to deep center field, and Edward Julien was walked. Jorge Polanco also was walked. The base is now loaded. Kepler was called out for strikes with Lewis, and Christian Javier knocked him out with punches. After five innings, the Astros were 5-0.
In the top of the sixth inning, Jeremy Pena was walked by the Twins Maeda. Maldonado is currently batting first with Pena. Maldonado hit a rope to third base and Lewis was unable to finish. Pena is now at third base, Maldonado at first and Altuve at batter. Jose Altuve fired a line drive to Carlos Correa, who scored. With one out and two men on, Bregman batted. Bregman hit the ball into shallow midfield and Pena scored. The Astros extended their lead to 6-0.
When Alvarez hit, he hit a ball to first base and Bregman was out at second base. Alvarez was at first base, Maldonado was at third base, and Kyle Tucker was batting. Tucker hit a line drive to second base, but was struck out early on. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Astros led 6-0.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hunter Brown took the mound, replacing Christian Javier, who was throwing a nice ball.
Carlos Correa singled to center and Donovan Solano relieved Alex Kirilloff. Solano flew to right field and Varner now hit the ball. Wollner was walked by Brown and now the Twins had two men on base with Castro batting. Castro passed the ball to right field, scoring Carlos Correa. The Astros are now 6-1.
The next batter, Jeffers, hit a ball to Pena, who flipped the ball to second base, Altuve flipped the ball to first base, and the Astros defense hit a nice double play.
Score: 6-1 Astros heading into the top of the seventh.
In the top of the seventh inning, Jose Abreu swung out and Yanier Diaz grounded to third base. DuPont fouled out and struck out.
Entering the 7th inning: The Astros still lead 6-1.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Bryan Abreu replaced Hunter Brown on the mound. Edouard Julien was called a strike, Jorge Polanco had one out and Kepler struck out. Entering the eighth inning, the Astros led 6-1.
In the top of the eighth inning, Bailey Ober replaced Kenta Maeda as the Twins’ pitcher. Jeremy Pena flew to center field and hit a fly ball off Martin Maldonado, who jumped over the left field fence for a single. Jose Altuve knocked a roper to right field, setting up Matt Wallner’s run. Maldonado remained at first base, with Alex Bregman batting. Bregman was called out for the strike. By the bottom of the eighth inning, the Astros still led 6-1.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Phil Maton replaced Bryan Abreu on the mound. The Twins’ Royce Lewis lined up in shallow left field. Carlos Correa flew into Dupont’s midfield. Donovan Solano batted two away. Solano was called for strike. By the ninth inning, the Astros still led 6-1.
In the top of the ninth inning with no outs, Yordan Alvarez hit a huge home run to right field to Twins pitcher Ober. The Astros are now 7-1.
The next batter, Kyle Tucker, reached base. The next batter, Jose Abreu, scored Tucker with a 440-foot home run to left field. The Astros are now 9-1.
The next batter, Mauricio Dubon, singled to deep center field and that was all she had to write for Twins pitcher Bailey Ober. Griffin Jaquez will replace him on the mound. The next batter, Jeremy Pena, flew out to deep right field, setting up a swinging out by Martin Maldonado. The Astros led 9-1 in the bottom of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Rafael Montero replaced Phil Maton on the mound for the Astros. Twins leadoff batter Matt Wallner was walked by Montero. The next batter, Willi Castro, popped out to shallow infield. Ryan Jeffers was called for strike. Edward Julian is out.
Just like that, the Astros won 9-1. ALDS series lead 2-1. Game 4 is Wednesday afternoon.
