The Houston Astros are on the verge of advancing to the League Championship Series for the seventh consecutive year.
Houston defeated the Minnesota Twins 9 to 1 in Game 3 of the AL Division Series held at Target Field on the 11th (Korean time). Houston, which recorded 1 win and 1 loss in the first and second games held at home, won the third away game and took the lead in the series with 2 wins and 1 loss.
Houston advanced to the AL Championship Series (CS) for six consecutive years from 2017 to last year, took the top spot in the league four times, and won the World Series twice. With just one more win, they will advance to the ALCS for the 7th consecutive year.
The main contributor to the victory was starter Christian Javier. Although he allowed 5 walks in 5 innings, he pitched well, allowing 1 hit, and became the winning pitcher without giving up a single run. He had a whopping 9 strikeouts and overwhelmed the Minnesota batting lineup. After throwing 87 balls, Javier’s four-seam fastball velocity reached a maximum of 95.9 mph and an average of 93.1 mph, exceeding the season average. He used 46 fastballs, 32 sliders, 5 changeups, and 4 curveballs.
As a result, Javier maintained his reputation as the ‘Man of the Fall’ with his postseason record of 5 wins and 1 loss and an ERA of 1.91. He led the team to victory with a 6-inning no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies last year, contributing greatly to Houston’s comeback victory after falling behind by 1 win and 2 losses.
In fact, Javier’s good pitching that day was unexpected. Appearing in 31 games this regular season, he had an earned run average of 4.56, his worst since his major league debut in 2020. Additionally, he failed to complete the fifth inning in five of the final 11 games of the season. That means he was not in good shape in the second half of the season.
However, Houston coach Dusty Baker was confident in Javier ahead of this series. This is because he pitched well in the postseason, and in his last appearance of the season, against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 2nd, he pitched well, allowing 3 hits and no runs in 6 innings.
On the other hand, Minnesota starter Sonny Gray suffered the loss by allowing 8 hits, including 2 home runs, and 5 runs in 4 innings.
Houston’s Jose Abreu hit two home runs and drove in five RBIs. The concentration of Houston’s hitters was outstanding, with Alex Bregman having 2 hits and 2 RBIs, and Yordan Alvarez having 3 hits and 1 RBI.
Houston took the lead by scoring four points in the top of the first inning. Leader Jose Altuve got on base with a heavy hit and created an opportunity. With one out, Alvarez’s ground ball was thrown back by first baseman Alex Kirillov, and the runners advanced to second and third base respectively.메이저사이트
Then, Kyle Tucker gave the go-ahead run with a base hit to left, and the next batter, Abreu, pulled a sweeper in the middle of Gray’s 83rd pitch on the fourth pitch and hit a three-run home run that went wide over the left field fence, widening the lead to 4-0.
Houston, who went up 5-0 when Bregman hit a solo home run to the left in the 5th inning, added a run in the 6th inning with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd base, followed by Alvarez’s solo homer in the top of the 9th inning for a 6-1 lead. Abreu’s two-run home run added 3 points, putting a wedge in the game.
The fourth game between the two teams will be held at the same location at 3:07 a.m. on the 12th.