TWINS DEFEAT ASTROS

Astros' offense falls flat in loss to Twins

Astros Ronel Blanco
Twins defeat Astros, 6-1. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Pablo López pitched seven strong innings and Trevor Larnach hit a two-run homer to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Carlos Santana added a solo home run and Willi Castro tripled to help the Twins to their fourth victory in five games.

López (5-5) allowed six hits and a run with six strikeouts as he tied his longest start of the season.

Alex Bregman went deep in the third inning for his third home run in four games, but the Astros couldn’t do much else on offense in their fourth loss in five games.

Castro’s triple opened the third before Jose Miranda walked. There was one out in the inning when Carlos Correa’s double to right field scored Castro to make it 1-0. Miranda scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Kirilloff to leave Minnesota up 2-0.

Bregman cut the lead to 1 when he sent Lopez’s first pitch of the fourth inning off the foul pole in left field.

Castro walked with no outs in the fifth before Larnach made it 4-1 with his shot to left-center field off Ronel Blanco (5-1) with one out.

Max Kepler was hit by a pitch to start the sixth and moved to third on a double by Ryan Jeffers. Kepler scored on a groundout by Manuel Margot to extend the lead to 5-1.

Santana’s home run off Alex Speas made it 6-1 in the eighth.

Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut, allowed three hits and four runs while walking three in 4 2/3 innings for his first loss.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: 3B Royce Lewis (severe quadriceps strain) went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in his fifth rehabilitation start for Triple-A St. Paul on Friday. Manager Rocco Baldelli wouldn’t say when he expected him to come off the injured list, but said it wouldn’t be this weekend.

Astros: RHP Luis Garcia (Tommy John surgery) threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice session Friday. Garcia will go to Houston’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, next week to throw a couple more live batting practice sessions before beginning a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

UP NEXT Houston LHP Framber Valdez (3-3, 4.34 ERA) opposes Joe Ryan (4-3, 2.96) when the series continues Saturday.

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CultureMap's signature event The Tailgate (shown here in 2023) is coming back for 2024. Photo by Marco Torres / @MarcoFromHouston

CultureMap is gearing up for the exciting return of The Tailgate, our all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit.

For the event’s third year, we’re partying in EaDo at 8th Wonder. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11, and tickets are already on sale.

Attendees can look forward to sports-inspired bites from some of their favorite Houston restaurants, premium cocktails, memorabilia from Texas legends, and plenty more game-day fun.

Popular Houston restaurants and chefs will create tailgate-inspired dishes for attendees to sample and vote for their favorite. Participants include:

  • 1891 American Eatery & Bar
  • Big City Wings
  • Comfort Foodies
  • The Halal Guys
  • J Bar M
  • Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition
  • Kokoro
  • Layne's Chicken Fingers
  • Loro
  • Mainely Sandwiches
  • Pizaro's Pizza
  • Ramen Tatsu-Ya
  • Saint Arnold Brewing Company
  • Southern Jerks
  • Stuff'd Wings
  • Taste Kitchen + Bar
  • Thai Tail
  • The Waffle Bus
  • Uchi
  • Uchiko Houston

Attendees can look forward to food from favorite Houston restaurants and premium cocktails.Photo by Marco Torres / @MarcoFromHouston

Following up on the success of last year’s Ultimate Sports Bar Showdown, we’ll soon be asking readers to vote for their favorite wing joint of 2024. Our editors have put together a list of 16 candidates that will go head-to-head in a bracket-style tournament we're calling the Ultimate Wing Showdown. Your winner will be revealed at the party.

The event will also shine a spotlight on local sports organizations, including the Texans, which will raffle off a CJ Stroud-signed White Panel Football. The Astros will show off their Shooting Stars dancers as well as the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies, and their Shuttle Crew team will bring prizes. Houston soccer stars the Dynamo and Dash will raffle team-signed jerseys.

Attendees can expect more fun, games, and prizes courtesy of our event sponsors and local vendors, including Verizon, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen+Main, Shipley Do-nuts, and more.

Fan favorite Astros broadcaster Julia Morales will be there with her cult favorite apparel line, Shop Baseball, Y'all.

We'll keep you up to date on all things Tailgate-related in a special editorial series of stories leading up to the event.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $35 for general admission (regularly $50) and $60 for VIP (regularly $75).

All tickets include bites by participating restaurants, complimentary premium beverages, and access to fun activities throughout the event. VIP tickets come with one-hour early entry, access to a dedicated VIP bar, an exclusive meet-and-greet with one of Houston's top athletes, and more perks for an elevated experience.

Head here to buy your tickets now.

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The Tailgate is sponsored by Verizon, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen+Main, Shipley Do-nuts and more to be announced.

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