AIR YORDAN!
Yordan Alvarez homers twice in Astros' victory over Twins
Jun 1, 2024, 6:00 pm
AIR YORDAN!
Framber Valdez pitched no-hit ball into the seventh inning and Yordan Alvarez hit two of Houston’s four homersin the Astros' 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Valdez (4-3) didn’t allow a hit until a single to start the seventh. He yielded the two hits and a run with four strikeouts in seven innings.
Alvarez hit a two-run home run off Joe Ryan (4-4) in the first and his solo shot off the starter in the fifth inning made it 5-0. It’s the third multi-homer game of the season for Alvarez and 18th of his career.
AirYordan pic.twitter.com/6E6bl0cbBk
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 1, 2024
Struggling first baseman José Abreu hit his first home run and second extra-base hit of the season in the second inning. Kyle Tucker added a homer in the third to give him 19 this season, which ranks second in the majors behind Aaron Judge’s 20.
Abreu goes deep!!! pic.twitter.com/yg8J0UfrtO
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 1, 2024
Houston led 5-2 with one out in the ninth when Jake Meyers made a leaping catch at wall in center field to rob Byron Buxton of a homer. Closer Josh Hader raised both arms high in the air after the catch and Buxton, a fellow center fielder, tipped his helmet to Meyers.
JAKE MEYERS ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!??? pic.twitter.com/tmuMBbNe9e
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 1, 2024
Hader then struck out Willi Castro to get his eighth save.
Valdez sailed through the first six innings. He walked Manuel Margot to start the fourth and plunked Kyle Farmer to open the sixth but has faced the minimum thanks to double plays in both innings.
Valdez got some help from his defense for the first out of the third. Tucker made a leaping catch just before crashing into the right field wall on a fly ball hit by Farmer.
The Twins got their first hit when Margot singled on a grounder to center field to start the seventh. Margot moved to second on a wild pitch with one out before scoring on a two-out single by Jose Miranda that cut the lead to 5-1.
An RBI single by Carlos Correa got the Twins within 5-2 with two outs in the eighth.
Tucker walked in the first before the first homer by Alvarez made it 2-0.
There were two outs in the second when Abreu’s shot pushed the lead to 3-0. Abreu was playing his fourth game in the majors after spending almost a month in the minors to work on his swing after a terrible start to the season.
Tucker’s home run to right center came with one out in the third to make it 4-0. There were two outs in the fifth when Alvarez connected again.
Ryan yielded eight hits, including four homers and five runs — all season highs — in five innings.
UP NEXT
Minnesota RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-0, 2.70 ERA), who is from suburban Houston, was set to face RHP Hunter Brown (1-5, 6.39) when the series concludes Sunday.
Jalen Green scored 35 points, Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-115 on Friday night.
Green finished 12 of 24 from the floor and was 5 of 11 on 3-pointers. Amen Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Houston, which shot 50%, including 13 of 26 on 3-pointers.
Jabari Smith Jr had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game back after missing 22 games with a broken bone in his left hand.
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points on 13-of-32 shooting, including 4 of 14 on 3-pointers. Edwards scored 25 points in the first half on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Naz Reid had 22 points and eight rebounds, Jaden McDaniels added 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 16 points for Minnesota, which shot 45%, including 11 of 39 on 3-pointers.
Timberwolves: Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing four games with a sprained right index finger, but he was in foul trouble for most of the night and finished with five points in 24 minutes.
Rockets: One area that coach Ime Udoka pointed to before the game where Smith’s return would help was rebounding. Houston outrebounded the Timberwolves 48-35.
Tied at 108, Green made a 3-pointer with five minutes remaining to kickstart Houston’s 9-2 run to open up a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left.
Edwards was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter, including 1 of 4 on 3-pointers. He scored 3 points in the quarter as Houston sent double teams at him.
Minnesota hosts Oklahoma City on Sunday night, while Houston travels to Utah on Saturday night.