(Minneapolis) Jose Abreu produced three of his four runs in the first inning with a homer before adding a two-run second in the ninth and the Houston Astros defeated the Minnesota Twins 9-1 on Tuesday.
Yordan Alvarez hit his fourth long ball in three games, then Alex Bregman had a home run and a productive single for the defending World Series champions.
The Astros thus lead 2-1 in this Major Baseball second-round series and are one win away from their seventh consecutive appearance in the American League championship.
“That’s one of the reasons I signed [un contrat] with this organization, be in the best situation and compete [lors des éliminatoires] », Launched Abreu, who maintained the worst average of his career in his first season at the Texan club, at 0.237.
Game 4 will take place on Wednesday at Target Field. If the Twins force a showdown, it will take place in Houston on Friday.
Astros starter Cristian Javier did well with nine strikeouts in five scoreless innings.
Javier has been inconsistent this year, with a 4.56 ERA, easily his worst in four major league seasons. He had failed to complete five innings in five of his 11 starts before this one.
Astros manager Dusty Baker has expressed confidence in the 26-year-old pitcher since the start of the playoffs, a belief he tied to his long experience with Javier.
The right-hander, who pitched six scoreless innings in Game 4 of last year’s World Series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, lowered his career ERA during the playoffs to 1.91 in 37 2/3 innings.
With 13 hits in 16 at-bats against Javier’s slider, the Twins were never able to respond to the Astros’ early outburst. Javier allowed just one hit, a double to Max Kepler in the first that put two runners in scoring position.
Javier responded with consecutive takedowns against Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa.
With five hits and a hit batter, Javier gave the Twins several comeback opportunities. They loaded the bases in the fifth, but Kepler and Lewis were out.
The Twins left nine players on the trail and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Correa, who has at least one hit in each of his five playoff games, scored on a single by Willi Castro in the sixth. But Jeremy Pena then dove to block a Ryan Jeffers grounder, triggering a double play.
The Astros went ahead from the first at bat. Jose Altuve welcomed Sonny Gray home with a single. Kyle Tucker allowed him to open the scoring with a single, then Abreu added three points by stretching his arms.
“It was a tough day to hit, so the fact that they hit quickly was really, really important,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. The team that managed to do this would definitely put themselves in charge. »
Gray ultimately gave up five runs, four earned, eight hits and a free pass in four innings of work.
“It was a very difficult battle as a team. It was a very difficult battle for me,” Gray said.
It was the first time in two seasons with the Twins that Gray allowed two home runs in the same game.
José Urquidy will start the next game for the Astros. He will face Joe Ryan, who will begin his first career playoff appearance.
