Twins whiff into the offseason as Astros advance to ALCS
The dream is dead. The Minnesota Twins were eliminated by the Houston Astros with a 3-2 loss in Game 4 of the American League Divisional Series in Minneapolis Wednesday night. Houston advances to face the Texas Rangers in the ALCS.
In the ninth, down 3-2 and the season on the line, the Twins sent the heart of the order to the plate with Jorge Polanco, Royce Lewis and Max Kepler. Polanco struck out on a foul tip. Lewis struck out swinging. And Kepler struck out looking to end the season.
Minnesota struck first when Lewis hit a two-out homer off the facing of the second deck in the first inning. That put the Twins up 1-0 and continued the trend of Lewis showing up in big moments. The rookie hit four grand slams during the regular season and the moment was never too big for him in the playoffs as he slugged four homers in six postseason games despite not being 100% because of a hamstring injury.
"I enjoy it so much and for anyone out there, if you work hard joy will come," Lewis told Tom Verducci during an interview on FS1 in the second inning.
Lewis's four homers are tied for second most playoff homers in Twins history.
- Kirby Puckett – 5
- Greg Gagne, Royce Lewis – 4
- Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Torii Hunter – 3
Michael Brantley wasted no time tying the game with a solo homer off Twins starter Joe Ryan with two outs in the second inning.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli pulled Ryan after two innings and used Brock Stewart for a scoreless third, but then he brought in left-hander Caleb Thielbar to face Houston lefties in the fourth and the move blew up. Yordan Alvarez singled before Thielbar struck out Kyle Tucker, but then Jose Abreu smashed a two-run homer to put the Astros on top 3-1.
Leading 3-1, Urquidy went into cruise control and didn’t allow another hit until Julien slugged a solo homer into the left field bleachers with one out in the sixth inning. The homer cut the deficit to 3-2 but didn’t erase the fact that Urquidy allowed just four base runners in 5.2 innings while generating a season-high 19 swings and misses.
For the night, the Twins had 30 swings and misses.
After Thielbar’s struggles, Chris Paddack gave the Twins 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four while retiring the last seven Astros he faced. Griffin Jax kept the momentum going with a 1-2-3 seventh, including a pair of strikeouts, his first ending a 10-pitch battle against Michael Brantley.
Down 3-2 and the season on the line, the Twins went down in order in the seventh, with Ryan Jeffers and Willi Castro both striking out after Carlos Correa’s 108.5 mph liner was caught by Peña at short.
Jhoan Duran cleaned up the Astros with no problems in the eighth and in the bottom of the eighth the Twins sent Donovan Solan, Byron Buxton and Julien to the plate against star right-hander Bryan Abreu. Buxton hadn't played in a MLB game since Aug. 1 because of hamstring and knee injuries and was added to the playoff roster just hours before the game as an injury replacement for Alex Kirilloff (shoulder).
Abreu, who hasn't allowed a run since July 18, struck out Solano swinging for the first out. Buxton then hit a soft pop out to Abreu at first base after receiving a huge standing ovation from the fans at Target Field. Julien, who doubled, walked and homered in his first three plate appearances, then struck out on three pitches to put the Twins on the brink of elimination.
Duran struck out Alvarez on three pitches to start the ninth and then got Tucker to bounce out on one pitch before Abreu ripped a single to left to snap a streak of 15 batters retired in a row by the Twins bullpen. Brantley flied out to center on the next pitch to leave the score 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth.
That's when Astros closer Ryan Pressly, whom the Twins traded to the Astros in 2018 for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino, went into action and sent Polanco, Lewis and Kepler down in order to clinch the series.
Pressly is now 13 for 13 in postseason save opportunities.
