One more win to advance to ALCS

The Houston Astros have only one win left to advance to the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Houston beat the Minnesota Twins 9-1 in Game 3 of the 2023 MLB American League Division Series (ALDS, three out of five) at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the 11th. Houston, which has two wins and one loss in the series, will advance to the ALCS if it wins only one of the remaining Game 4 and Game 5.

Houston has advanced to the postseason for seven consecutive years since 2017, when it won its first World Series championship. Houston crushed the Minnesota mound with 14 hits and five home runs.

The batting line exploded from the first inning, making the game easy. Jose Altuve got a heavy hit from opposing team starter Sonny Gray, and Jordan Alvarez got on base due to an opponent’s error, taking a chance with one out and runners on second and third. Kyle Tucker then scored the first point by hitting a timely hit to the left. 안전놀이터 추천

Afterwards, Jose Abreu exploded a three-run home run over the left fence with one out and runners on first and third bases, quickly leading 4-0.

Houston, which won the game, widened the gap to 5-0 in the fifth inning when Alex Bregman hit a solo shot to the left against Gray, and in the sixth inning, Bregman made a sacrifice hit with one out and runners on first and third base to run away one more point.

Minnesota had a full base chance with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning with Willy Castro walks, Julien walks and Polanco walks, but both Kepler and Lewis struck out and failed to chase.

Houston gave up one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Alvarez’s solo home run and Abreu’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning allowed three more runs to secure a 9-1 victory.

Houston starter Christian Javier became a winning pitcher by tying up the opponent’s batting line with one hit, five walks and nine strikeouts in five innings.