How Houston Astros starting pitching stacks up to Twins in Game 4
URQUIDY TAKES THE BALL
11 October 2023
Jose Urquidy takes the ball for Houston in Game 4 of the ALDS. Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
After a 9-1 thumping of the Minnesota Twins, the Astros now lead the ALDS 2-1 with an opportunity to move on to the ALCS with a win on Wednesday night.
The Astros bats were out in full force in Game 3, and the club will be looking for Jose Abreu and Yordan Alvarez to continue mashing balls out of the yard.
Game time: Wednesday 6:07 PM CST
Game 4 probable pitchers: Twins RHP Joe Ryan (11-10, 4.51 ERA) vs. Astros RHP Jose Urquidy (3-3, 5.29 ERA).
Joe Ryan
Ryan is set to make his 30th start of the season.
Ryan pitched at least 5 innings in his last 3 starts.
In his last start, he surrendered 6 earned runs to the Rockies, allowing 3 homers over 5 innings.
The Astros went 7-for-37 with three homers and nine RBI in 10 innings against Ryan this season.
Joe Ryan, who pitches for the Twins tonight, is in the bottom 5% in max exit velocity and bottom 23% in avg exit velocity.
Will the ball fly tonight?
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) October 11, 2023
Jose Urquidy
Urquidy is set to make his 11th start of the season.
In his last start, he pitched 6 scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks.
Urquidy has pitched in 12 career postseason games, starting 6 of them.
He has a postseason ERA of 3.72.
Conclusion
Jose Urquidy's playoff experience should give manager Dusty Baker a lot of confidence in his starter, and JP France and the rest of the Astros bullpen will be ready to go when called upon.
Houston's high leverage relievers (Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Hector Neris) should be rested and ready, with only Bryan Abreu pitching in Game 3. He threw 12 pitches on Tuesday.
Houston falls short as Soto’s homer, missed opportunities doom Astros
Mar 28, 2025, 10:26 pm
Juan Soto hit his first homer with the New York Mets, helping his new team beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Friday night.
With two out in the third inning, Soto drove a 1-2 pitch from Hunter Brown deep to right for a solo shot that lifted New York to a 3-0 lead.
Soto's 390-foot shot came a day after he struck out on a full-count slider from closer Josh Hader with two on and two out in a 3-1 opening-day loss.
Before that, Soto singled and walked twice Thursday in his Mets debut. The slugger signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract as a free agent in December.
New York starter Tylor Megill (1-0) pitched five-plus innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits, struck out six and walked one.
Edwin Díaz struck out one in a perfect ninth for his first save, finishing a three-hitter.
Brown (0-1) struck out seven in six innings. He allowed four hits and walked three.
Mark Vientos hit an RBI double for New York in the second and scored on a single by Jesse Winker.
Houston scored its only run in the fourth on Yordan Alvarez's sacrifice fly.
The Astros had a runner on first with one out in the eighth when Luisangel Acuña made a diving stop on Alvarez's grounder to second, popped up and threw to first for the out.
Houston was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
Key moment
The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but Reed Garrett struck out Alvarez before retiring Yainer Diaz on a fly ball to right-center.
Key stat
The Mets have won the last seven games started by Megill dating to Aug. 30.
Up next
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti opposes Griffin Canning when the series wraps up Saturday night. Arrighetti looks to build on a strong rookie season when his 171 strikeouts were the third-most by a rookie in franchise history.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
