Astros tag Chris Archer early, complete season sweep of Twins
The Houston Astros hit Chris Archer early on Thursday night, using a four-run first inning to fuel a 6-3 victory and complete a season sweep over the Minnesota Twins.
After dropping the first two games of the series, Minnesota got on the board first with a solo home run from Jorge Polanco, but Houston answered quickly with a leadoff double by Jose Altuve.
Altuve scored on a ground ball double play to tie the game but Trey Mancini smashed a three-run homer later in the first to give the Astros a 4-1 lead.
That set the tone for Archer, who allowed five runs over four innings of work. With the Twins in a big hole, they couldn't find the big hit, with two more runs coming on a Luis Garcia wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Luis Arraez.
The Twins got aggressive to keep the game close, using Jhoan Duran in the fifth inning and Jorge Lopez in the seventh, but they ran out of arms as Trevor Magill served up an RBI double to Jeremy Peña to allow Houston to pull away.
The loss helped Houston complete a season sweep of the Twins, with the Astros winning all six head-to-head meetings this year. The Twins were didn't lose ground in the AL Central standings as the Cleveland Guardians lost to the Seattle Mariners, but they also suffered their sixth straight loss.
The Twins will return home on Friday night to open a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants.
