The Houston Astros will play the Minnesota Twins in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series.
The series is deadlocked at one game each, with the Astros capturing Game 1 and the Twins taking Game 2 in Houston.
Christian Javier will start Game 3 for the Astros against Sonny Gray of the Twins.
Astros standout Jose Altuve got the game underway with a leadoff single to center field.
Following Alex Bregman’s strikeout, Yordan Alvarez reached base on an error, moving Altuve to third.
Next, Kyle Tucker singled to shallow left field, easily sending Altuve home for a 1-0 lead.
José Abreu homers to left field with Tucker and Alvarez on base, giving the Astros a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
The Astros are up 4-0 after the first inning.
There were no scoring plays in the second inning, and the Astros lead 4-0 going into the third.
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez singled to right field in the top of the third inning. Kyle Tucker, on the other hand, grounded out to second base, Jose Abreu struck out swinging, and Yainer Diaz was thrown out on strikes.
The Astros lead the game 4-0 heading into the fourth inning.
Mauricio Dubon doubled to left field in the top of the fourth inning, Jeremy Pena flied out to right field, Martin Maldonado likewise flied out to right field, and Jose Altuve was ruled out on strikes. The score remains 4-0 Astros coming into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Carlos Correa grounded out to the shallow infield in the bottom of the fourth inning, Alex Kirilloff grounded out to second base, and Matt Wallner struck out on a foul tip. The Astros lead the game 4-0 going into the top of the fifth inning.
Alex Bregman hit a 353-foot home run to left field in the top of the fifth inning, increasing the Astros’ lead to 5-0.
Yordan Alvarez followed with a double, and Kyle Tucker was walked. Two guys are now on base, and the Twins are changing pitchers. Emilio Pagan has been sent to the bullpen in lieu of Twins starter Sonny Gray. After a long at-bat, Jose Abreu popped up to second base, Yanier Diaz struck out swinging, and Mauricio Dubon flied out to left field. The Astros take a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Willi Castro was walked in the top of the fifth inning, Ryan Jeffers flied out to deep center field, and Edouard Julien was walked. Jorge Polanco was also escorted out. The bases have now been loaded. With Lewis, Kepler was called out on strikes, and Christian Javier struck him out swinging. After five innings, the Astros lead 5-0.
Jeremy Pena was walked by Twins Maeda in the top of the sixth inning. Maldonado is at bat right now, with Pena at first. Lewis is unable to make the play as Maldonado smacks a rope toward third base. With Altuve at bat, Pena is now at third base and Maldonado is at first. Carlos Correa makes the play after Jose Altuve hits a line drive. With Bregman at bat, there is one out and two men on base. Bregman scores Pena with a line drive to shallow center field. The Astros increase their advantage to 6-0.
With Alvarez at the plate, he hits a line drive to first base, and Bregman is thrown out at second. With Kyle Tucker at bat, Alvarez is at first base and Maldonado is at third base. Tucker hits a line drive to second base and is out at the plate. The Astros lead 6-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
Hunter Brown is currently on the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, replacing Cristian Javier, who threw a gem.
Carlos Correa singled to center field and Donovan Solano pinch-hitting for Alex Kirilloff. Solano strikes out to right field, and Wallner takes the plate. Brown walked Wallner, and the Twins now have two men on base with Castro at bat. Castro scores Carlos Correa with a line drive to right field. The score is presently 6-1 in favor of the Astros.
The next hitter, Jeffers, hits a line drive to Pena, who flips the ball to second base, where Altuve turns the play to first base for a nice double play by the Astros defense.
The Astros lead the game 6-1 entering the top of the seventh inning.
Jose Abreu struck out swinging in the top of the seventh inning, and Yanier Diaz grounded out to third base. Dubon struck out on a wild pitch.
The Astros are still up 6-1 as the game enters the seventh inning.
Bryan Abreu has taken Hunter Brown’s spot on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning. Edouard Julien struck out, Jorge Polanco grounded out to first, and Kepler struck out swinging. The Astros were up 6-1 going into the eighth inning.
Bailey Ober relieved Kenta Maeda as the Twins’ pitcher in the top of the eighth inning. Martin Maldonado hit a pop shot that jumped over the left field fence for a single after Jeremy Pena flew out to center field. Jose Altuve hits a rope to right field, where Matt Wallner makes the play. With Alex Bregman at bat, Maldonado stays at first base. On strikes, Bregman is called out. We’re now in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the Astros still leading 6-1.
Phil Maton has taken over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning in place of Bryan Abreu. The Twins’ Royce Lewis lined out to shallow left field. Dubon makes the play after Carlos Correa flied out to center field. Donovan Solano is at bat and has two outs. Solano was summoned for a strike. The Astros lead the game 6-1 going into the ninth inning.
Yordan Alvarez shows Twins pitcher Ober a monster home shot to right field in the beginning of the ninth inning with no outs. Astros lead presently 7-1.
Kyle Tucker is the next hitter to bat. The next hitter, Jose Abreu, hits a 440-foot home run to left field, scoring Tucker. Astros lead presently 9-1.
The next hitter, Mauricio Dubon, singled to far center field, and that was the end of Twins pitcher Bailey Ober’s night. Griffin Jax will take his turn on the mound. Jeremy Pena follows with a fly out to deep right field, and Martin Maldonado strikes out swinging. The Astros lead the game 9-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning.
Rafael Montero has taken over on the mound for the Astros in the bottom of the ninth inning. Matt Wallner, the Twins’ first hitter, was walked by Montero. Willi Castro, the next hitter, pops out to the shallow infield. Ryan Jeffers is summoned for a strike. Edouard Julien is struck out.
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