The Minnesota Twins proved that they are not to be taken lightly after Game 2 of the ALDS when they blitzed the defending World Series champion Houston Astros 6-2 in Texas to knot the ALDS at 1-1 entering Tuesday night’s pivotal Game 3.
The lines in Vegas didn’t shift too seismically but the magic of Minnesota in the playoffs and the exploits of Kirby Puckett and the gang back in the late 80s and early 90s began to creep into the consciousness of today’s baseball news.
Maybe this is Minnesota’s fairy tale season.
In Game 3, Dusty Baker’s Boyz put a brief halt to the optimism and the reality of the well-rounded team Minnesota was facing hit the Twin City faithful like a sack of baseballs as the Astros pounded out 14 hits en route to a 12-1 thrashing.
The Astros sit just one game away from clinching their seventh straight trip to the ALCS.
The baseball world got reminded of how potent and deep that Astros lineup is when at full strength, especially batters 1-5.
Every player in the starting lineup, except Yainer Diaz, had a hit by the 7th inning. The top five batters in the order were 7-for-19 with six RBI and just two strikeouts though seven innings.
The pesky Twins managed only three hits but kept fighting. They had their opportunities to score, but couldn’t get the key hit when needed, even leaving the bases loaded against Javier in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Yordan Alvarez continues to rake after winning American League Player of the Month in September. He added an insurance run in the 9th-inning with a solo blast to make it 7-1.
Former MVP Jose Abreu followed up his first inning three-run shot with a two-run shot to put the game out of reach at 9-1. It was easily his most impactful game as an Astros player.
Houston Astros Pitching Has Been Lights Out
For all of Houston’s offensive exploits, it was the pitching that fueled Dusty Baker to his 53rd playoff win and his 30th as manager of the Astros.
The playoffs are where you separate the clutch performers from the regular season imposters. Houston has two of the best arms when it comes to postseason dominance.
Those arms also hold the two longest active postseason scoreless streaks in Major League Baseball.
Starter Cristian Javier racked up nine strikeouts through six innings in Game 3 and now has tossed 17 straight innings without surrendering a run.
Reliever Bryan Abreu has a steak of 13.3 postseason scoreless innings. Two pitchers who were very pivotal in Houston’s World Series run in 2022 continue to show up this postseason.
The Twins managed just three hits and the look on Carlos Correa’s face as the camera flashed to him in the waning moments of the ninth inning was one of concern.
Houston has almost no weaknesses. Minnesota will have to play well above their heads to avoid elimination in Game 4.
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