Astros rip 4 HRs in Game 3 win, on doorstep of 7th straight ALCS

October 11th, 2023

MINNEAPOLIS ¨C If any team knows anything about pulling out big wins on the road in October, it¡¯s the Astros, whose path to four American League pennants in the previous six seasons is filled with clutch road victories. They added another one to the list Tuesday afternoon at Target Field and are on the verge of winning yet another postseason series.

Jos¨¦ Abreu hit two home runs, including a three-run shot off starting pitcher Sonny Gray in a four-run first inning, and Cristian Javier walked the tightrope between triumph and disaster before escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to deliver a scoreless outing in the Astros¡¯ 9-1 win over the Twins in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

¡°I think us as the Houston Astros organization, we understand how difficult it is to win and play this game, and independently, the crowd was quiet a little bit after that,¡± Abreu said. ¡°But we just came out and tried to play our best game and tried to get the win today. Thankfully, we got the win.¡±

The defending World Series champion Astros lead the best-of-five series, 2-1, and can punch a ticket to their seventh consecutive AL Championship Series with a win in Game 4 of the ALDS on Wednesday. They¡¯ll give the ball to Jos¨¦ Urquidy, who has three World Series wins under his belt.

¡°I'm anxious to finish the series tomorrow and enjoy it with the guys,¡± Urquidy said.

In all best-of-five postseason series, teams leading 2-1 after Game 3 have gone on to win the series 69 of 96 times (72 percent). In the Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams ahead 2-1 and playing Game 4 on the road have advanced 21 of 32 times (66 percent), with 17 of those 21 winners closing out the series in Game 4.

What makes the Astros so tough in October is their extensive postseason experience -- nothing bothers them, no moment takes them by surprise. They¡¯re built for the postseason, whether it¡¯s Abreu, who came to Houston this year to win a championship, or Alex Bregman, who has appeared in 89 career postseason games.

¡°That's the kind of club we have,¡± Astros manager Dusty Baker said. ¡°It's a very confident club, not a cocky club. We don't showboat too much. We just play. The guys have a knack of picking each other up. From day to day, it could be a number of heroes, like today, or somebody [else] carries us on that particular day.¡±

Javier recorded his third consecutive postseason outing of at least five innings with one hit or fewer allowed, something no one else has ever done. He pitched around five walks and struck out nine batters. The only hit he allowed was a first-inning double by Max Kepler.

Still, there were a few tense moments in the fifth.

Javier walked the bases loaded with one out before coming back to strike out Kepler and Royce Lewis for the two biggest outs of the Astros' season to date. Javier got 19 swings and misses among his 87 pitches, including 13 on his slider -- the most of his career. He extended his postseason scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings.

"The only way you can rattle him is if you punch him,¡± catcher Mart¨ªn Maldonado said. ¡°I spend time with him off the field, and that's him. Same thing you guys see on the mound is what I see. Strike out somebody, he doesn't get amped. A guy hits a homer, he doesn't get amped. Even when he's not playing, not pitching, somebody hits a homer, and he's like [makes a blank face]. That's why he's called ¡®El Reptil.¡¯"

Meanwhile, the Astros¡¯ offense, which has performed much better on the road this year than at home, flexed some early road muscle and jumped on Gray in the first inning. Kyle Tucker¡¯s RBI single put Houston ahead, and Abreu hit a Statcast-projected 442-foot home run to left field to make it 4-0.

Bregman and Yordan Alvarez joined the fun with a solo homer apiece. Bregman¡¯s blast, a leadoff shot in the fifth, was the 16th postseason homer of his career, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time playoff home runs list. No third baseman has hit more playoff homers in AL/NL history than Bregman.

¡°The first two at-bats, I didn¡¯t feel so good, but after that, [I] just made a few adjustments to the approach, to the mechanics and felt better after that,¡± Bregman said.

Alvarez, who already had two doubles in the game, went deep in the ninth for his fourth home run of the series. He's behind only Juan Gonzalez (five homers in the 1996 ALDS) and Ken Griffey Jr. (five, 1995 ALDS) for the most home runs in a best-of-five postseason series.

¡°He thrives on the big moment, and they did pitch him well,¡± Baker said. ¡°But if you can hit, you can hit. There aren't a whole bunch of hitters around, but he's one of the top hitters in baseball, and he has a tremendous amount of concentration. He has a very short stroke to be such a big man. I mean, most big men have longer swings. He's very quiet and confident.¡±

Quiet and confident. Just like the Astros.

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
mfhoudan.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
jerusalemdispatch.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
worldhealthstory.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
techguroh.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com