Astros Turn to Javier In Game 3 of ALDS vs. Twins' Gray

With the Houston Astros tied at 1-1 in the American League Divisional Series, they will turn to Cristian Javier as their starting pitcher for Game 3 against Minnesota’s Sonny Gray.

First pitch is set for 3:07 p.m. Tuesday.

The winner gets a 2-1 lead in the series and a chance to close things out on Wednesday in Minneapolis. If the Twins win, they’ll get a chance to close out the Astros at Target Field and end the Astros’ six-year streak of reaching the American League Championship Series.

It is Javier’s job to help prevent that.

“Yeah, I've heard there are big expectations of me for my next outing, but I'm just going to do what I do every single time, which is go out there and compete,” Javier said. “I'm going to try to go out there and compete, give it my all, just like in my previous postseason outings.”

Javier has had an-and-down season for the Astros, but he is 10-5 with a 4.56 ERA in 31 starts in 2023. That included a career-high 162 innings in the regular season, with 159 strikeouts and 62 walks.

In his final seven regular-season starts, Javier was 1-3 with a 4.67 ERA in 34.2 innings, with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks.

But he won his last start, which came on Oct. 1 against Arizona, as he threw six innings of three-hit, shutout baseball as the Astros climbed into a tie for first place in the American League West and, based on tiebreakers, claimed the No. 2 playoff seed and Wild Card bye.

Javier also struck out four and walked two in that game.

He has extensive postseason experience, but Tuesday will be just his third postseason start in 15 career playoff games. He is 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 32.2 innings with 48 strikeouts.

He was excellent in last year’s postseason, during which the Astros won their second World Series title. He went 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in three games (two starts), with 16 strikeouts and five walks in 12.2 innings. He allowed just two hits and one run in 202 pitches.

He’ll square off with Gray, the veteran right-hander who went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA in the regular season. He pitched well enough by July to earn a berth in the All-Star Game in Seattle. He also finished the regular season in a groove, even though he only went 2-2. He had a 1.54 ERA in his last seven starts, with 36 strikeouts and five walks in 41 innings.

That continued in the postseason, as he started Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against Toronto. He threw five innings of shutout baseball, giving up five hits and striking out six against two walks before handing things over to Minnesota’s bullpen.

It was his first postseason start since 2017 when he pitched for the New York Yankees. Tuesday will be the sixth postseason start of his career.

When he started against the Astros in April, he struck out 13 at Target Field. He said he’s not drawing much from that outing in terms of scouting.

“I don't think you look back that far, as far as like a game plan or how I'm going to attack these dudes,” Gray said. “I think over the course of a season hitters change, approaches change. Guys say like I found this, I found that.”

Astros-Twins ALDS Schedule, Results

(Best-of-5 series, all times central)

Game 1: Houston 6, Minnesota 4

Game 2: Minnesota 6, Houston 2 (series tied, 1-1)

Game 3: Houston at Minnesota, Tuesday, 3:07 p.m., Fox

Game 4: Houston at Minnesota, Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., FS1*

Game 5: Minnesota at Houston, 3:07 p.m., Friday, FS1*

*-if necessary