AIR YORDAN!

Yordan Alvarez homers twice in Astros' victory over Twins

Yordan Alvarez homers twice in Astros' victory over Twins
Astros defeat the Twins, 5-2. Composite Getty Image.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Yordan Alvarez is back! Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros open a three-game set Tuesday night against the struggling Colorado Rockies, with Hunter Brown set to take the mound at Daikin Park.

Houston (72-59) enters the matchup atop the AL West despite dropping six of its last 10 games, during which the offense has sputtered to a .204 average and the pitching staff has been tagged for a 5.69 ERA. The Astros will look to steady things at home, where they’ve gone 38-27 this season, and lean on Brown, who has been one of their most consistent arms. The right-hander owns a 10-5 record, a 2.36 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 2025.

Colorado (37-94) comes in losers of four straight and carrying the worst road record in baseball at 16-49. The Rockies have struggled mightily to contain the long ball, going 17-77 in games when allowing at least one home run. Starter Tanner Gordon (4-5, 7.11 ERA) will try to buck that trend in just his 10th appearance of the season.

Yordan Alvarez will make his long-awaited return to the lineup Tuesday, starting in left field for the opener against Colorado. It will be his first game action since May 2 after being sidelined with a hand injury.

Jose Altuve continues to lead the Astros’ offense with 22 home runs and a .456 slugging percentage, while Carlos Correa has been one of Houston’s most reliable bats of late, collecting 13 hits in his last 39 at-bats. On the Rockies’ side, Hunter Goodman has piled up 52 extra-base hits this season, and Brenton Doyle enters the series swinging a hot bat with 15 hits and 11 RBIs over his past 10 games.

The matchup is the fourth meeting between the two clubs this year, with Houston heavily favored to pick up another win as it looks to build momentum in the stretch run.

Betting odds

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -341, Rockies +270; over/under is 8 runs

Roster moves

RHP Shawn Dubin has been claimed by the Orioles.

Starting lineup

What stands out? With Yordan back in the lineup, manager Joe Espada has decided to deploy him in the cleanup spot, leaving the Top 3 of Pena, Correa, and Altuve (DH) unchanged.

A surprising twist

However, Alvarez playing left field is not something we were expecting.

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

With Yordan hitting fourth, Christian Waker slides back to the five spot, followed by Jesus Sanchez (RF), Victor Caratini (C), Mauricio Dubon (2B), and Jacob Melton (CF).

Interesting to see Yainer Diaz with the night off. He was hit in the wrist by a pitch from Craig Kimbrel on Sunday. Perhaps he needed an extra day to recover.

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