MLB

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins

· Major League Baseball
Houston Astros
46-44, 22-25 Away
Final
2 - 3
Minnesota Twins
51-39, 27-18 Home

Vázquez homers in 9th inning to give Twins 3-2 win over Astros

Vázquez, who had two hits and drove in all three Twins runs, hit a full-count sinker from Josh Hader (3-5) high and deep to left field for his fourth homer of the season.

“I think it’s fun to hit in the ninth against the closer,” Vázquez said. "I get locked in there.”

Jhoan Duran (4-3) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win.

The Astros wrapped up a 10-game road trip 6-4, while the Twins have taken two of three games in each of their last five series. The team's offense has especially come alive of late, banging out 42 hits in the three games against Houston.

“I think our offense is very dangerous,” Vázquez said. “One through nine, everyone puts something on the table to win. So, we never give up, and that’s the beauty of this game,”

Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti gave up two earned runs and struck out six in five innings.

Minnesota's Simeon Woods Richardson had one of his best starts of the season. The rookie right-hander gave up two earned runs over six innings and retired the last 13 batters he faced.

“When you see a guy figure it out while he’s out there and make it work, and have his best stuff toward the end of the outing, it leaves you even more satisfied,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He gave us a chance to win and we end up winning the game.

Twins shortstop Carlos Correa left the game in the first inning after being hit on the right hand by a pitch. The team announced that initial scans were negative and Correa was diagnosed with a finger contusion.

“I will be playing tomorrow,” said Correa, who had his finger wrapped after the game.

Woods Richardson’s control escaped him in the second inning and the Astros made him pay. Back-to-back walks helped load the bases with one out. César Salazar’s sacrifice fly drove in one run and Jose Altuve’s base hit plated another as Houston took a 2-0 lead.

Vázquez drove in runs with a two-out single in the second and a fielder’s choice grounder in the fourth to tie the game 2-2.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Altuve returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game with a wrist contusion. … OF Yordan Alvarez missed the game with a sore right knee after he was hit by a pitch on Saturday.

Twins: OF Austin Martin (oblique strain) was placed on the 10-day IL. OF Matt Wallner was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to fill Martin’s roster spot.

UP NEXT

Astros: With their longest road trip of the season in the books, the Astros return to Houston until the All-Star break. RHP Ronel Blanco (8-3, 2.53) will start Tuesday’s game against the Marlins.

Twins: Minnesota heads to Chicago Monday to open a three-game series with the White Sox. The Twins haven’t named a starter for Monday night’s game, though RHP Chris Paddack (5-3, 5.29) is eligible to come off the IL and the date lines up with his slot in the rotation.

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins?
  • TV Channel: Astros at Twins 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Twins: 59.5%
Astros: 40.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Vázquez homered to left (362 feet).
9th Inning Cabbage in right field.
9th Inning Hader relieved McCormick
9th Inning McCormick struck out swinging.
9th Inning Meyers walked, Diaz to second.
9th Inning Dubón flied out to right.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
8 Ground Balls 9
7 Strikeouts 8
2 Runs Batted In 3
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
5 Hits 11
0 Stolen Bases 0
3 Walks 3
0 Catcher Interference 0
2 Runs 3
0 Ground Into Double Play 1
1 Sacrifice Flies 0
31 At Bats 32
0 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
11 Runners Left On Base 15
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 0
17 Fly Balls 15
0 Caught Stealing 1
135 Pitches 140
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 2
1 Pinch Hits 1
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
6 Total Bases 14
35 Plate Appearances 36
0.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
1 Extra Base Hits 1
1.2 Runs Created 5.3
.161 Batting Average .344
1.000 Pinch Hit Average .500
.194 Slugging Percentage .438
.129 Secondary Average .156
.229 On Base Percentage .417
.422 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .854
0.5 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.6
1.2 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.2
15.0 Batter Rating 26.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 32.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.86 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.89
.032 Isolated Power .094
0.43 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.38
.086 Walks Per Plate Appearance .083
-.032 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.188
4.0 Runs Produced 6.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.4
66.8 MLB Rating 83.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Target Field

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 28,056 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston - 73 W2 0.54658383 88
Seattle 3.5 77 W4 0.52469134 85
Texas 10.5 84 W3 0.4814815 78
Oakland 19.5 93 L3 0.42592594 69
Los Angeles 25.5 99 L6 0.3888889 63

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland - 69 L2 0.5714286 92
Kansas City 6.5 76 W1 0.5308642 86
Detroit 6.5 76 L2 0.5308642 86
Minnesota 10.5 80 L4 0.50617284 82
Chicago 51.5 121 W2 0.25308642 41
Full Standings