Astros dominate the Twins in lopsided win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 11-0 win
Apr 30, 2019, 9:59 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After being shutout in the loss the night before, the Astros looked to turn things around on offense on Tuesday night in the dreary weather in Minneapolis for game two of four with the Twins. Here's a quick stat breakdown and three hits from the game:
Final Score: Astros 11, Twins 0
Record: 18-12, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (2-4, 3.95 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Michael Pineda (2-2, 6.21 ERA).
1) No stopping this train
Although it looked like he might be in for a rough night after walking the first two batters to start his night, Gerrit Cole turned that around quick to post his best start of the season and most dominant since his complete-game shutout with sixteen strikeouts in Arizona almost exactly one year ago.
Cole did not allow a hit until the sixth inning, and that one hit to go with three walks would be his only flaws in a seven-inning scoreless start with eleven strikeouts. The eleven Ks moved him to 65 for the year, a new record for American League starters before May and keeping him well out in front in the strikeout column in the AL.
2) Offense heats up in the cold weather
There was no shutting out Houston's offense on Tuesday night, as they jumped ahead early on an RBI-double by George Springer in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Springer doubled the lead to 2-0 with a line-drive solo dinger to lead off the fifth, then later in the same inning Carlos Correa notched an RBI with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
They'd strike again in the top of the sixth, putting together a big four-run inning after a two-run homer by Jake Marisnick, a solo homer from Alex Bregman, and an RBI-single from Correa. Correa would get his third RBI of the night in the eighth, drawing a bases-loaded walk before Houston would add three more insurance runs on RBIs from Aledmys Diaz and Josh Reddick then scoring on an error to extend the lead to 11-0.
3) Bullpen finishes the shutout
With Cole's dominant night done after seven innings, Josh James came in for the eighth and was able to find his way out of a two-out bases loaded jam. Chris Devenski took over in the ninth and closed out the game to get Houston back in the win column.
Up Next: Houston and Minnesota will get started a little later tomorrow than the first two games, starting game three of four at 7:10 PM. Collin McHugh (3-2, 4.78 ERA) will start for the Astros opposite of Martin Perez (3-0, 4.44 ERA) for the Twins.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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