The Houston Astros are back in the ALCS for the seventh year in a row. Houston defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, in Game 4 of the ALDS on Tuesday to win the series 3-1.
The Astros got home runs from Michael Brantley and José Abreu while starter Jose Urquidy allowed only three hits in his 5 2/3 innings of work. The Astros bullpen didn't even allow a hit in its 3 1/3 innings to close the game down.
Even if not considering the Astros at present a dynasty, they are absolutely an American League dynasty. This will now be their seventh consecutive ALCS. The last time there was an ALCS without the Astros was 2016. In their previous six ALCS, they won four AL pennants and then went on to win two World Series, including last year's.
They'll now face their in-state foe in the 2023 ALCS as the Rangers knocked out the top-seeded Orioles from the bracket on Tuesday.
Here are four things to know from Houston's Game 4 win.
The Twins got a first-inning home run from Royce Lewis and a sixth-inning homer from Edouard Julien. That was just about it with Astros starter José Urquidy controlling the offense aside from those two blasts. Those were two of the three hits he allowed in his 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out six.
There were plenty of question marks about this spot in the Astros' rotation. The top three were obvious in co-aces Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez followed by playoff stalwart Cristian Javier. Urquidy had a 5.29 ERA in the regular season and only appeared in three innings during the World Series run last year.
The Astros had already used Hunter Brown twice in relief in the series, which meant the decision was between Urquidy and J.P. France. The Astros elected to go with Urquidy and it paid off.
The Twins jumped on the board in the first inning with Lewis' solo homer. The Astros evened things up in the second and it came from a somewhat unlikely source. The 36-year-old Michael Brantley hit a solo shot.
Brantley only played in 64 games last season and 15 this year due to major injury issues. He homered just seven times in those seasons in 297 at-bats. His most recent home run was Sept. 6. This was his fifth career postseason homer, but his first since the 2020 ALCS.
Another wily veteran, José Abreu, provided the rest of the offense with a two-run shot.
This comes after Abreu went 2 for 5 with two homers and five RBI in Game 3.
Abreu has been a premier run producer throughout his time in the majors. He's driven home at least 100 runs in six of his 10 seasons -- and one of the times he didn't was 2020, when he was MVP in the 60-game season. He had a down year at the plate in 2023, though he still drove in 90.
He seems to be heating up just now, and that's a scary thought for the rest of the league. The Astros already have one of the strongest 1-4 lineups in baseball with Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker starting things off. If Abreu gets hot, holy smokes that's a stout 1-5.
The Twins are headed home, but not for lack of trying from rookie sensation Royce Lewis. He hit a home run, as mentioned above, in the first inning in this one. He got on base at a .360 clip in the Twins' six playoff games while slugging .810. He hit four home runs and drove in five. Expect a lot of hype around his bat heading to next season, where he'll hopefully stay healthy for the full six months.
And while, the Twins season is over, they don't have to hear about the 0-18 drought anymore, thanks to having swept the Blue Jays in two games in the Wild Card Series. This is something that they can build on heading toward next season.
The Rangers swept the Orioles in the ALDS and now the Astros are headed to join them in an all-Texas ALCS. The series starts on Sunday and it'll be in Houston for Games 1 and 2, as the Astros won the AL West due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
While we're here, check this out. The American League playoffs record by division so far:
The ALDS ends on a Max Kepler strikeout. Houston is going to the ALCS for the seventh consecutive season and the Twins are heading home for the offseason. The ALCS starts Sunday at Minute Maid Park. Astros vs. Rangers. An all-Texas series. Fun!
Lewis strikes out. The Twins are down 3-2 and down to their final out.
Oh boy, did Pressly just get hurt? He spun out after delivering that pitch. He's had knee trouble in the past. Staying in the game though.
Pressly fell down and doesn't seem totally right
Polanco got ahead in the count 3-1, then struck out. One out for the Twins.
Duran got through two innings on only 23 pitches. I wonder if he will go out for the tenth if the Twins tie it. Ryan Pressly is coming in with a 3-2 lead. The Astros are three outs away from their seventh consecutive ALCS.
A home run there would have been supremely cool. Alas, it was not meant to be. Bryan Abreu gets through the eighth and the Astros will take at least a 3-2 lead to the ninth inning.
harmless pop out to first
This is Buxton's first at-bat since Aug. 1.
Buxton was activated today after finally getting back from a knee injury.
The Twins went to Jhoan Duran in the eighth. They're presumably going to ask him to throw two innings. Kinda have to here. They have to hold the Astros to three runs.
It's still 3-2 Astros. The Twins have two innings left to save their season.
It's 3-2 Astros. The Twins have nine outs to save their season.
Heh, Lewis forgot the count. He stood at the plate waiting for the at-bat to continue after taking a ball in a 3-2 count.
That'll do it for Urquidy. He gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings. His 82 pitches are his most since Aug. 23.
His first postseason homer cuts Houston's lead to 3-2 in the sixth. Julien's power always surprises me. There's legit juice in his bat. He's not a walk machine.
The bullpen game has largely gone according to plan for Minnesota. Three runs in six innings? That works. The offense has to get going through. They scored only two runs in Game 3 and not until after the game was pretty much over. Maybe Julien's blast and Urquidy's elevated pitch count can get the Twins on track.
He's thrown 70 pitches and he hasn't thrown more than 73 pitches since late August. Dusty might try to squeeze another inning out of him, but don't be surprised if that's all for Urquidy. Astros up 3-1.
We're halfway through. The Twins have five innings to score at least four runs to extend their season. The Astros are looking for their seventh straight ALCS berth.
Three homers in two games now. His two-run opposite field blast gives Houston a 3-1 lead.
Astros first baseman José Abreu has been a premier run producer throughout his time in the majors. He's driven home at least 100 runs in six of his 10 seasons -- and one of the times he didn't was 2020, when he was MVP in the 60-game season. He had a down year at the plate in 2023, though he still drove in 90.
He seems to be heating up just now, and that's a scary thought for the rest of the league.
In Game 3, he hit another home run:
This comes after Abreu went 2 for 5 with two homers and five RBI in Game 3.
The Astros already have one of the strongest 1-4 lineups in baseball with Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker starting things off. If Abreu gets hot, holy smokes that's a stout 1-5.
I believe I said this in another blog this week already but I think we're somehow underappreciating Yordan Alvarez still, despite his heroics seemingly every playoff game.
He's hitting .500 in the series and that was his first single. Keeping him in the ballpark feels like a win. It's 1-1 in the fourth.
Joe Ryan went only two innings. I fully understand the strategy, but man, I hate bullpen games. I miss when starting pitchers were baseball's main characters.
Man, this is a good game between two fun enough teams and the crowd is really into it. And it's still such a step down from the Philly game.
Michael Brantley is a Professional Hitter.
The Twins jumped on the board in the first inning with a Royce Lewis solo homer. The Astros evened things up in the second and it came from a somewhat unlikely source. The 36-year-old Michael Brantley hit a solo shot.
Brantley only played in 64 games last season and 15 this year due to major injury issues. He homered just seven times in those seasons in 297 at-bats. His most recent home run was Sept. 6. This was his fifth career postseason homer, but his first since the 2020 ALCS.
Just like he did in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, Royce Lewis has homered to left field to get the scoring started. Lewis was a little out in front of a changeup, but not too far to keep it square and fair.
Lewis, 24, was the first overall pick out of high school in the 2017 draft. He debuted last season, but it was cut short after 12 games when he tore his ACL. He played in 58 games in the regular season this year, hitting 15 homers in 217 at-bats. He then went deep twice in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and now has two home runs this series, too. That's four home runs in his first 20 career playoff at-bats. It's safe to say he isn't fazed by the big stage.
He scooped up a chopper up the middle and dove to apply the tag on Julien, the lead runner at second base. Incredible instincts.
