Houston gets a win over Minnesota

Astros back Garcia to end three-game skid with shutout win over Twins

Astros' Luis Garcia
Luis Garcia posted another quality start in Saturday's game against the Twins. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Luis Garcia posted another quality start in Saturday's game against the Twins.

After dropping their third straight game in the second game of the series, the Astros tried again to get things back on track on Saturday in game three of this four-game set. Although runs would be scarce early, they belonged to the Astros, who backed up a quality start from Luis Garcia to get back in the win column.

Final Score: Astros 4, Twins 0

Astros' Record: 66-45, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (8-6)

Losing Pitcher: Michael Pineda (4-7)

Houston strikes first to back up Garcia's great start

Like in the game prior, the Astros started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. It came on three straight singles to lead off the frame, the third an RBI single by Chas McCormick to give Houston the early 1-0 lead. Still 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Yordan Alvarez doubled the score with a solo homer, and the 2-0 score would hold through Luis Garcia's time on the mound.

Garcia had a great start; retiring the first ten batters he faced before a one-out double in the fourth gave the Twins their first hit and baserunner on the night. He would erase it, though, and allowed just one other baserunner on a one-out double in the fifth as he would complete six scoreless innings. His final line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 85 P.

Astros get back in the win column

Houston moved to their bullpen in the top of the seventh, as Ryne Stanek took over for Garcia and worked around a two-out single for a scoreless inning. Kendall Graveman was next, and he, too, maintained the two-run lead by erasing a hit in a scoreless top of the eighth.

Houston added insurance runs in the bottom half by getting two on base to set up a two-RBI double by Aledmyz Diaz to double the lead to 4-0. Even with the runs moving it out of a save situation, Ryan Pressly still came in to close things out in the ninth. He did so, sitting down the Twins 1-2-3 to wrap up the victory for the Astros.

Up Next: The finale of this four-game series will get started at 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Kenta Maeda (4-4, 4.65 ERA) will be on the mound for the Twins, while Lance McCullers Jr. (9-2, 3.02 ERA) will go for the Astros trying to grab his tenth win of 2021.

astrosastros scoreastros recapmlbmlb scoresmlb recapsastros vs twinstwins recaptwins scoretwinsmichael pinedaluis garcia

Most Popular

How Astros' mistakes proved costly against Rockies

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM

Houston Texans trim o-line room with trade to Los Angeles

Yordan Alvarez is back! Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros open a three-game set Tuesday night against the struggling Colorado Rockies, with Hunter Brown set to take the mound at Daikin Park.

Houston (72-59) enters the matchup atop the AL West despite dropping six of its last 10 games, during which the offense has sputtered to a .204 average and the pitching staff has been tagged for a 5.69 ERA. The Astros will look to steady things at home, where they’ve gone 38-27 this season, and lean on Brown, who has been one of their most consistent arms. The right-hander owns a 10-5 record, a 2.36 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 2025.

Colorado (37-94) comes in losers of four straight and carrying the worst road record in baseball at 16-49. The Rockies have struggled mightily to contain the long ball, going 17-77 in games when allowing at least one home run. Starter Tanner Gordon (4-5, 7.11 ERA) will try to buck that trend in just his 10th appearance of the season.

Yordan Alvarez will make his long-awaited return to the lineup Tuesday, starting in left field for the opener against Colorado. It will be his first game action since May 2 after being sidelined with a hand injury.

Jose Altuve continues to lead the Astros’ offense with 22 home runs and a .456 slugging percentage, while Carlos Correa has been one of Houston’s most reliable bats of late, collecting 13 hits in his last 39 at-bats. On the Rockies’ side, Hunter Goodman has piled up 52 extra-base hits this season, and Brenton Doyle enters the series swinging a hot bat with 15 hits and 11 RBIs over his past 10 games.

The matchup is the fourth meeting between the two clubs this year, with Houston heavily favored to pick up another win as it looks to build momentum in the stretch run.

Betting odds

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -341, Rockies +270; over/under is 8 runs

Roster moves

RHP Shawn Dubin has been claimed by the Orioles.

Starting lineup

What stands out? With Yordan back in the lineup, manager Joe Espada has decided to deploy him in the cleanup spot, leaving the Top 3 of Pena, Correa, and Altuve (DH) unchanged.

A surprising twist

However, Alvarez playing left field is not something we were expecting.

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

With Yordan hitting fourth, Christian Waker slides back to the five spot, followed by Jesus Sanchez (RF), Victor Caratini (C), Mauricio Dubon (2B), and Jacob Melton (CF).

Interesting to see Yainer Diaz with the night off. He was hit in the wrist by a pitch from Craig Kimbrel on Sunday. Perhaps he needed an extra day to recover.

___________________________

*ChatGPT assisted.

Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!

https://houston.sportsmap.com/advertise

astroshouston astros

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome