RAISE A GLASS TO THE STROS

Astros and Houston brewery host official Game 3 and 4 watch parties this week

Astros Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman

Head to Karbach for the official Astros watch party! Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

How latest Astros series further confirms MLB actually got something right

Real fans know that there's no reason to panic after the Houston Astros fell 6-2 ALDS playoff game loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, October (the only thing that stung was former Astro Carlos Correa driving in three runs).

History shows that we can bounce back to our Game 1 form, where Justin Verlander and our boys dropped the Twins 6-4 on Saturday, October 7. Let Yordan Alvarez go yard, let Alex Bregman blast some Breggy Bombs, and we're back in business.

Now, as the Stros travel to Minnesota for Game 3 and Game 4, locals can scream for our men in orange and blue at restaurants and bars across the city — check out CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler's list of food and drink deals here.

A quick time out for the Ultimate Sports Bar Showdown

As sports fans know, CultureMap and SportsMap are teaming up to celebrate the return of the fall sports season with The Tailgate, our all-out party devoted to everything sports. It’s happening Wednesday, October 25 at Silver Street Studios, and tickets are already on sale.

For The Tailgate’s second year, we’re inviting CultureMap and SportsMap readers to vote for Houston’s best sports bar in our Ultimate Sports Bar Showdown. Our panel of editors and other local experts has compiled a roster of 16 local favorites with an array of different strengths. Some are owned by professional athletes, while others are part of local or national chains.

Some are big enough to accommodate hundreds of people at a time, while others are more intimate. Regardless of the specifics, they all offer a lively atmosphere for rooting on all of our favorite teams.

Rather than a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament, we’re inviting readers to vote for their favorite establishments from the entire field. The top half of all vote getters will advance to the next round as we go from 16 to eight to four to two to a winner. People may vote once per day, and voting will be monitored to ensure every establishment gets a fair shot to win. Vote here for your favorite.

Back to the Astros ALDS Watch Parties

Looking for a team-sanctioned Astros rally? Head to the Astros Official ALDS Watch Parties at Karbach Brewing Co. (2032 Karbach St.) on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 10 and 11, in Spring Branch.

Fans can look forward to special appearances by everyone's favorite green guy Orbit and the Coca-Cola Shooting Stars, check out a prize wheel, snap pics at all the photo ops, snag official team postseason gear from the team store, and more.

Here are the watch party schedules for Game 3 and 4, which kick off 30 minutes before first pitch.

Game 3, Tuesday, October 10: Watch party start time is 2:30 pm; game time is 3:07 pm.

Game 4, Wednesday, October 11: Watch party start time is 5:30 pm; game time is 6:07 pm.

"Every single person in that clubhouse is motivated to go out and play well tomorrow," Bregman told the media on Monday, October 9 when discussing his teammates' focus and readiness.

No doubt, Alex — now, it's game on.

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The Tigers beat the Astros, 7-4. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Javy Báez capped a five-run third inning with his ninth career grand slam, and the Detroit Tigers avoided a series sweep by beating the Houston Astros 7-4 on Wednesday.

Baez’s two-out homer off AJ Blubaugh (0-1), a 24-year-old right-hander making his major league debut, put the Tigers ahead 7-1. All five runs were unearned due to shortstop Jeremy Peña throwing error on Kerry Carpenter's grounder.

Riley Greene tied his career high with four hits.

Brenan Hanifee (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Jackson Jobe, who allowed three runs, four hits and four walks in three innings. Detroit has won five of seven and nine of 13.

Blubaugh (0-1) struck out two in a 1-2-3 first and gave up seven runs — two earned — and five hits in four innings with six strikeouts and a walk.

Blubaugh was optioned back to Sugar Land after the game.

Peña hit the first career leadoff home run, the first of his three hits, but Colt Keith hit a two-run homer in the second to put Detroit ahead for good.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the fifth and Victor Caratini homered in the seventh against Tyler Holton.

Holton struck out Yainer Diaz to strand two runners in the seventh and Tommy Kahnle struck out Christian Walker to leave two runners on in the eighth.

Houston went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.

Key moment

Báez drove a high sweeper over the left-field scoreboard.

Key stat

Houston allowed five unearned runs in the third inning after giving up three in its first 29 games.

Up next

Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (1-3 4.00 ERA) opens a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Tigers: RHP Casey Mize (4-1 2.12 ERA) opens a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels and LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 4.31) on Thursday night.

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