The Astros are going back to the ALCS
The Astros beat the Minnesota Twins in a nail biter by a score of 3-2. Houston returns to the American League Conference Series for the seventh straight season, despite an inconsistent offensive showing against the Twins during the ALDS. Although Minnesota seemed to be pulling off a “Cinderella story” of sorts after their sweeping of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series, Houston stopped them dead in their tracks. The Astros will now face the Texas Rangers in the battle for the American League pennant.
W: Jose Urquidy (1-0) L: Caleb Thielbar (0-1) SV: Ryan Pressly (2)
Jose Urquidy, Astros
Jose Urquidy impressed in his 13th career postseason appearance, going 5.2 IP while only giving up 2 Earned Runs and 3 hits. Urquidy’s mark of 6 strikeouts against the Twins also allowed him to escape minor jams when the Twins found a man on base. One of Urquidy’s main troubles during the regular season was his home run issue. Urquidy’s HR/9 was 1.6 during the regular season, which tied for the worst in his career. His ability to bounce back from adversity has also turned some heads. After Twins’ phenom Royce Lewis hit his fourth home run of the postseason in the first inning, Urquidy settled in and struck out five of the next six Minnesota hitters. Urquidy’s solid start improved his ERA to 3.64 in his postseason career after Wednesday night.
Joe Ryan, Twins
Joe Ryan wasn’t anything special at all during his postseason debut on Wednesday night. Ryan only went 2 innings, allowing 1 ER, 2 Hits, and striking out only one batter. Ryan struggled to keep the ball in the ballpark during the regular season, especially when it came to the first three innings. Out of the 32 home runs Ryan gave up during the regular season, 22 of them came in the first three frames. On Wednesday night, this issue came to the forefront, as Astros Outfielder Michael Brantley saw a 93 MPH fastball from Ryan and crushed it 399 feet to right-centre field. It was a nightmarish debut for Joe Ryan, as he was never able to settle in comfortably.
Astros: Offensive Breakdown
The Houston Astros’ offence did not have their best showing in this Game 4 of the ALDS, but they did enough damage to secure the win. The Astros were able to make Joe Ryan uncomfortable in his first career postseason start and made the Twins go to the bullpen in the third inning. In the fourth inning, the Twins brought in southpaw reliever Caleb Thielbar, who has produced four straight seasons of an ERA under 4. Astros’ superstar Yordan Alvarez began the inning with a single off of Thielbar. Kyle Tucker, the next batter, struck out, bringing up 36 year old veteran Jose Abreu to the dish. Jose Abreu took a 94 MPH fastball from Thielbar and crushed an opposite-field home run, which gave Houston the 3-1 lead. The offence definitely did not show its fullest potential, but their timely hits powered them to the 3-2 win.
Twins: Offensive Breakdown
The Twins needed the offence to set the tone early in this elimination game against Jose Urquidy, but Minnesota ran into a few problems in the first inning. Canadian second-baseman Edouard Julien led off the bottom of the first with a double. However, the very next batter, Jorge Polanco, hit a line drive right to Astros’ shortstop Jeremy Pena and Julien was doubled off at second. While Royce Lewis hit a home run off Urquidy right after, the double play ruined the extreme potential that the first inning had for Minnesota. In the sixth inning, Edouard Julien got his redemption and hit a home run off of Jose Urquidy to bring the Twins within one run. However, Astros’ relievers Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, and Ryan Pressly hurled three innings of scoreless baseball to seal the victory. Minnesota’s lineup struck out a total of fourteen times, so their lack of plate discipline is one of the reasons why the Twins ultimately lost this crucial Game 4.
Astros: Top Performers:
Jose Abreu (1B) – 2-4, Run, HR, RBI
Michael Brantley (LF) – 1-4, Run, HR, RBI
Jose Urquidy (SP) – 5.2 IP, 3 Hits, 2 ER, 6 K’s, 1 BB
Twins: Top Performers:
Edouard Julien (DH) – 2-3, Run, HR, RBI, BB
Royce Lewis (3B) – 1-3, Run, HR, RBI
Chris Paddack (Relief Pitcher) – 2.1 IP, 1 Hit, 4 K’s
The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers face off in the battle of the Lone Star State. Game 1 of the ALCS goes Sunday, October 15, at 8:15 PM EST.
Houston’s pitching will have to be squeaky-clean if they hope to slow down the Rangers’ potent offence, with Texas coming off of a sweep of the 1-seed Baltimore Orioles.
(Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)