Yordan Alvarez had been hitless in his last 16 at-bats entering Tuesday. He fixed that in the first inning with a sharp single, then settled any lingering concern in the fourth with one swing.
With the bases loaded and Houston trailing 3-2 at Daikin Park, Alvarez drove a Joe Ryan sinker deep to right-center for a grand slam—his seventh career, tying a franchise record—to cap a six-run inning and give the Astros a lead they would not relinquish in a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins at Daikin Park. Houston evened the series at one game apiece and improved to 43-45.
The slam was the decisive blow, but it required a timely assist. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jose Altuve watched a full-count fastball from Ryan dart toward the outside corner. The umpire rang him up, but Altuve tapped his helmet to challenge the call. The call was overturned—ball four, forcing in a run and bringing up Alvarez.
“Not really,” Altuve said when asked if he was confident the pitch was a ball. “But the situation told me that I need to challenge. I thought it was a close pitch, but you’ve got to challenge that one especially with the bases loaded, two outs, we’re down in the game and Yordan hitting behind you. You’ve got to take a chance.”
“The Altuve at-bat was the at-bat of the game,” manager Joe Espada said.
Alvarez finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs, his best night in weeks. Altuve, Yainer Diaz, and Raynel Delgado all contributed in a fourth inning that began with a Diaz RBI single and ended with the grand slam.
Mike Burrows overcame a difficult first inning to work five innings for his fourth win of the season. A leadoff walk, a single, another walk, a hit batter, and a Ryan Kreidler single—aided by an Alvarez error in left—gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead before Burrows settled in and gave the offense time to catch up.
“I wasn’t really locating in the first,” Burrows said. “A couple walks, couple hits, never good in one inning. So just get in zone with my pitches and try to get them to roll over on some.”
Enyel De Los Santos, Steven Okert, and Bryan King combined to retire Minnesota’s final nine batters in order before Josh Hader closed out the ninth for his eighth save.
Alvarez had put in extra work at the plate before the game, and it showed in a three-hit night that ended a prolonged quiet stretch. His teammates were not worried.
“Nobody was concerned about him going 0-for-16 because at some point he will come and hit homers and doubles like he did today,” Altuve said. “He’s probably one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen in my career. Like I said, he was the only guy worried about himself.”
The Astros and Twins play the series finale Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. CT at Daikin Park, with the series tied at one game apiece. Tatsuya Imai starts for Houston against Taj Bradley.
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