Yordan Alvarez changed the game in one swing, and the Twins never recovered.
The Astros beat the Twins 6-4, riding Alvarez’s grand slam in the fourth inning to erase an early Minnesota lead and take control of the night. The blast, his 26th of the season, tied him with Hunter Goodman for the American League lead and gave him seven career grand slams, the most by any Astros player.
Minnesota had opened fast against Mike Burrows in the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases, setting up Victor Caratini, who was hit by a pitch to force in Trevor Larnach. Ryan Kreidler then followed with a two-run single, and just like that the Twins were sitting on a 3-0 cushion.
Joe Ryan settled in enough to carry that edge through the first three innings, but the fourth turned ugly in a hurry. Three straight singles got Houston on the board, and then back-to-back two-out walks filled the bases for Alvarez. The payoff was the kind of swing that can flip a game on its head: a grand slam and a 6-3 Astros lead.
That was all the offense Houston needed. Ryan was done after the fourth, and while the Twins bullpen gave them a chance to hang around, the lineup couldn’t answer.
Minnesota scratched across one more run in the fifth when Josh Bell doubled home Kody Clemens, but that was the end of it. The Twins didn’t get another baserunner over the final four innings.
The series wraps up tomorrow in the same place and at the same time, with Taj Bradley set to face Tatsuya Imai.
Kody Clemens finished 2-for-4 with two runs, Ryan Kreidler went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, and Josh Bell was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Eric Orze worked two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out three.
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The harder question for Minnesota remains the same one that has followed the club for months: the run prevention has not held up, and the bullpen has become the clearest source of anxiety. After last summers relief-deadline selloff, the late innings have too often tilted the wrong way, leaving the Twins with a familiar kind of tension as the schedule turns toward the second half. [Read more 🡒]