All eyes shift to these primetime players in Astros, Twins ALDS slugfest
STONE COLD 'STROS
09 October 2023
Coming off a big win behind starter Justin Verlander, the Astros were looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Twins on Sunday. But the Astros bats struggled against Pablo Lopez. The Twins offense got going as well, with Carlos Correa and company knocking Framber Valdez out of the game early.
The Twins would then cruise to a 6-2 victory, evening the series at one game a piece. Next up, the Astros face Sonny Gray in Minnesota, with Cristian Javier taking the mound for Houston.
The Astros are likely going to need a classic Javier performance on the road, as runs should be tough to come by against Gray. Javier has been pretty good over his last several outings, so let's hope that's the case again on Tuesday.
Sweet relief
If Cristian Javier pitches his typical 5 innings on Tuesday, the Astros will have to get plenty of help from their bullpen arms. Hector Neris was knocked around in Game 1, but don't expect that to continue.
He's been nails this season, and the club is going to need him moving forward. He was due for an underwhelming performance after being one of the main reasons the Astros won the division over the last two series of the regular season.
Hitters hit
While Yordan Alvarez has been terrific with 3 home runs in 2 games, the club could use a lift from Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker. Both have combined for 2 hits in the series, and things won't get easier against Gray in Game 3.
And hitting the road might be just what the doctored ordered for the Astros. We are fully aware of how much better they are away from Minute Maid, so let's hope that's the case in Minnesota.
Don't miss the video above as we react to the first two games, and discuss what could turn the series on the road.
Watch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) every Monday on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel!
Keyonte George scored 30 points and Lauri Markkanen added 23 points and 10 rebounds to rally the Utah Jazz to a 124-115 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Walker Kessler had 11 points and 17 rebounds, and Isaiah Collier added 12 points and 10 assists to help Utah snap a two-game skid.
Alperen Sengun led Houston with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Jalen Green added 25 points and 10 assists, and Amen Thompson had 23 points.
Aaron Holiday and Thompson made back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Rockets up 96-89. But the Jazz surged ahead for good behind a 21-5 run. Three straight baskets, capped by Cody Williams' layup, gave Utah a 110-101 lead with 5:59 left.
Sengun and Dillion Brooks each scored a pair of baskets to key an early 13-2 spurt that gave Houston a 45-40 lead midway through the second quarter.
Utah chipped away at the deficit, but did not retake a lead again until the third quarter when Markkanen bookended a string of four straight baskets that powered a 13-5 run. Kessler’s alley-oop dunk three possessions later punctuated that run and put the Jazz up 77-76.
Takeaways
Rockets: Houston committed only four turnovers over the first three quarters before coughing up the ball three times in the fourth.
Jazz: George propped up Utah’s struggling offense in the first half, scoring 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting before halftime.
Key moment
After falling behind by seven early in the fourth, the Jazz scored on six straight possessions and took the lead for good on a pull-up 3 from George.
Key stat
Utah outscored Houston 66-36 in the paint.
Up next
Houston hosts Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Utah hosts Portland on Monday night.
