The Houston Astros are in control of their ALDS matchup against the Minnesota Twins. The Astros hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series after cruising to a 9-1 victory in Tuesday's Game 3. Houston scored four runs off Minnesota starter Sonny Gray in the first inning and never looked back.
José Abreu hit a three-run homer off Gray in that first inning and tacked on another homer in the ninth. Yordan Alvarez continued his scalding-hot ALDS, while Cristian Javier put up more zeroes in his first playoff start since he was part of a combined no-hitter in last year's World Series.
Game 4 is back at Target Field on Wednesday, and the Twins will be trying to keep their season alive. The Astros, meanwhile, are one win away from reaching the ALCS for the seventh year in a row.
Now, for three takeaways from the Astros' Game 3 win.
While Cristian Javier's Game 3 start lasted just five innings, they were five scoreless and at times dominant innings. En route to handing a shutout to the bullpen, Javier allowed only one hit and struck out nine. He walked five, which led to trouble, but Javier was able to work out of it. Against him, the Twins went 0 for 7 with RISP and left seven runners on base.
Javier was at his most clutch in the fifth inning, when the Twins loaded the bases with one out, and that third walk of the frame to Jorge Polanco was a controversial one. On what was ruled ball four, Polanco appeared to tip the pitch into the mitt of catcher Martin Maldonado, which should've been a strikeout and the second out of the inning. Instead, plate ump Bill Miller didn't register the tip, and Polanco was permitted first base. Here's a look:
Unfortunately for Houston, such plays are not reviewable.
Rather than allow matters to cascade and allow the Twins back in the game, Javier carved up Max Kepler and Royce Lewis to end the threat:
Javier's slider was working in peak form all day, as 12 of his 18 whiffs came on that offering. Overall, it was a much-needed effort from a Houston pitcher who's struggled with consistency this season. It also added up to a bit of postseason history for Javier:
Houston this season was much better on the road than at home. The team's record was below .500 at Minute Maid Park but a robust 51-30 away from Houston. In related matters, the Houston offense was significantly better on the road this season. We shouldn't read too much into single-season home-road splits, even at the team level, but let's use it as a means to shout-out the work the Astros' lineup did on Tuesday.
Against Sonny Gray, one of the best starting pitchers in baseball this season, and battling the wholly accommodating shadows of Target Field, the Astros pushed across nine runs, tallied 14 hits, and registered 19 hard-hit balls. José Abreu (twice), Alex Bregman, and Yordan Alvarez each homered, and the lava-hot Alvarez also had a pair of doubles.
Especially considering the context – Gray and those shadows – it was a highly impressive performance by the Astro bats.
The Astros are up 2-1, which means they need to win one more game before the Twins win two. If they do that, then Houston will be ALCS-bound for a seventh-straight year (!). They'll also be one step closer to being MLB's first repeat World Series champs since the 1999-2000 Yankees.
They'd do well to take care of business in Game 4 on Wednesday. Joe Ryan will start for the Twins, and suffice it to say the Astros have much better odds against him than they will against a fully rested Pablo López in a deciding Game 5 back in Houston.
The Astros now lead the best-of-five ALDS by a count of 2-1. That means Houston is one win away from a trip to their seventh-straight ALCS. On other side, Wednesday's Game 4 will be an elimination game for the host Twins.
That's 20 hard-hit balls for the Astros today. Hard-hit balls are those that leave the bat at 95 mph or greater.
He is 3 for 5 with two doubles and a home run in Game 3, and he hit another ball that could've been a double but was (correctly) scored an error. Here's the home run.
Through three games Alvarez is 6 for 12 with two doubles and four homers in the ALDS, which works out to a .500/.538/1.667 batting line. This is Yordan's tenth postseason series and he's had a 1.000 OPS in five of them (including this one).
For the Twins, you can't pitch to this guy in a close game basically ever, which means taking your chances with Kyle Tucker. That's a pick your poison situation, but I'd rather face Tucker than Alvarez. Yordan's on another planet right now.
Abreu launches his second home run of the day.
It's now 7-1 Astros.
Houston is three outs away from being one win away from their seventh consecutive trip to the ALCS.
It's 6-1 Astros.
Here's the video. It was 110 mph off Jeffers' bat.
If that gets through, it's 6-2 with two on and only one out.
Peña turns a spectacular double play and that's that for that rally.
It's 6-1 and they have two on with one out. Bryan Abreu is warming, so Dusty is preparing to stamp this out with his best reliever.
Hunter Brown is coming in and J.P. France was just warming up. Suggests José Urquidy will start Game 4 for the Astros tomorrow. The Twins are going Joe Ryan.
Bregman with the ribbie.
Twins don't cash in with the bases loaded and the Astros put a run on the board in the next half-inning. So it goes for Minnesota.
Following a successful hit and run (or run and hit) by Maldonado.
Watching the slow motion replay again, yeah, I think Polanco foul tipped this. It looks like it changed direction. It should have been a strikeout rather than ball four. Foul tips are not reviewable, so the Astros couldn't do anything about it.
Polanco's walk loaded the bases with one out and, with Javier's pitch count climbing, it was Minnesota's best chance to make this a ballgame. Instead, Javier struck out Kepler looking on a breaking ball -- appropriate with Adam Wainwright in the booth -- and Royce Lewis with a slider way out of the zone.
The Twins had traffic, but ultimately Javier allowed just one hit through five innings. In his last three postseason starts dating back to last season, Javier has thrown 16.1 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. That's two hits to 61 batters faced. Impressive outing by the young man. Things were on the verge of unraveling at times, but he buckled down and made key pitches.
He'll face the bottom of the order.
Kepler struck out, Lewis struck out. With Javier's pitch count getting up there, that was as good a chance to get on the board as the Twins could have wanted. Javier hasn't been razor sharp but he's made big pitches when he's needed to.
Wow.
He hit 20 grand slams this season, or at least it felt like he did. (He hit four.)
Was that tipped? I can't tell on the replay. Seems like a play that should be reviewable.
Bags full of Twins.
Twins today are 0 for 5 with RISP. Here's another opportunity for them.
Good to hear fans still boo pick-off throws even with the limits on disengagements.
The Twins have the 2-3-4 hitters coming up. Javier is at 75 pitches. Waste this and it's probably game over.
I had no idea Hank Conger is Minnesota's 1B coach.
Pretty much now or never time for the Twins. Javier's pitch count is getting up there and soon they're gonna see the high leverage relievers. It's 5-0 Astros.
Reej, nobody cares about hockey.
As is Prince.
Kucherov is good.
