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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Cam Akers is going back to Minnesota. Composite Getty Image.

The Minnesota Vikings have acquired running back Cam Akers in a trade for the second straight year, agreeing Tuesday to send a late draft pick to the Houston Texans for more depth at the position.

The deal, which was contingent on Akers passing a physical exam, has the Vikings sending a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft to the Texans for Akers and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft.

Akers, who was a second-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 when current Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was the offensive coordinator there, came to the Vikings in a deal with the Rams on Sept. 20, 2023. He had 138 rushing yards and 70 receiving yards in six games before suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon tear.

Akers signed with the Texans this year after considering a return to the Vikings. He had 147 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards in five games, helping fill in for the injured Joe Mixon.

Akers has 1,728 rushing yards and 336 receiving yards in five NFL seasons. He led the league with 67 rushing attempts during the 2021 postseason while helping the Rams to a Super Bowl title.

The Vikings could be without starting running back Aaron Jones Sr. this week after he hurt his hip in the previous game. Ty Chandler is next in line.

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