Sunday afternoon, the Houston Astros took down the Minnesota Twins in a come-from-behind 9-7 victory that decided the weekend series.
Trailing 7-5 in the top of the ninth inning with Isaac Paredes on first base, Astros’ designated hitter Yordan Alvarez came to the plate. He swung at the first pitch from reliver Griffin Jax, sending a bomb to right center field for a game-tying home run.
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Astros’ closer Josh Hader took care of the Twins’ first three batters in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, the Astros took the lead with a single from Jose Altuve that brought home Brendan Rodgers. Jake Meyers would go onto steal home to extend Houston’s lead to two runs.
Hader returned to the bump for the 10th inning frame. He was able to get through the Twins’ bats without surrendering a run, sealing the comeback victory for the ‘Stros.
How we got there
The victory was far from comfortable for the Astros. The team went down 3-1 in the first inning as starter Ronel Blanco struggled against the Twins’ bats.
The Twins added four more runs across the next three innings, and Houston faced a 7-1 deficit entering the fifth.
In the fifth, the Astros added three more runs to cut into the lead, fueled by hits from Meyers, Paredes and Alvarez. In the sixth, a Paredes single brought in another run to create the 5-7 score.
Astros’ relievers Rafael Montero, Bryan King and Bryan Abreu all pitched shutouts between the fifth and eighth innings to allow the Houston offense to wake up and make it a game.
Astros take the series
The comeback helped the Astros take home the weekend road series two games to one. After winning the first game 5-2 on Thursday night, the Astros fell 6-1 on Saturday night to set up a series-deciding matchup Sunday.
