The Houston Astros have yet to fire on all cylinders when it comes to their offense this season, but the one constant that continues to deliver is the pitching.
And while the starting pitching has been great, even with multiple injuries, the bullpen continues to be a strength for this team.
Often relief pitching can be up and down from year to year, but the Astros have managed to maintain their high level of performance after a historic postseason.
Things haven't been perfect, Rafael Montero hasn't lived up to his numbers from last year. But the team is getting big contributions from players like Phil Maton, who we didn't expect to be this dominant in 2023. And the rest of the bullpen has been nails for the most part.
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Victor Caratini tied it with a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Mauricio Dubón hit a walk-off single in the 10th on Sunday to help the Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 to sweep the three-game series.
All-Star Energy. #VoteDubi x https://t.co/W06pfHQMR1 pic.twitter.com/5oiCa9GrRC
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 15, 2025
Jake Meyers started at second base in the 10th and scored on Dubón's two-out single to left field.
Astros starter Brandon Walter gave up a run on six hits with nine strikeouts across 6 2/3 innings. Shawn Dubin, Bennett Sousa and Josh Hader (4-0) combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Walter has allowed three earned runs across 17 2/3 innings in three starts this season.
Minnesota’s Brooks Lee led off the third inning with a home run.
Jose Altuve was hit by a pitch to lead off the seventh but Caratini grounded into a 4-6-3 double play before Meyers grounded out.
Cole Sands (3-3) took the loss.
Key moment
Jeremy Peña drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and stole second. Peña moved to third when Altuve singled and then scored on Caratini's sacrifice fly off Jhoan Duran to make it 1-1 and force extra innings.
Key stat
The Astros, who beat the Twins 3-2 on Cam Smith’s walk-off single in the ninth on Saturday, have won five in a row and 16 of their last 22 to take a five-game lead over second-place Seattle in the AL West.
Up next
Houston's Lance McCullers Jr. (1-2, 4.91 ERA) takes the mound Monday to open a four-game series with the Athletics, who have not announced a starter. Minnesota is off until Tuesday when David Festa (1-1, 4.76) is scheduled to start against Cincinnati's Andrew Abbott (6-1, 1.87) to open a three-game set.
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