ASTROS GAMER: Early goals allow Minnesota to take the lead over Houston

The Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 13-12 on Friday night. Game 2 of the three-game series was played Saturday afternoon and the Twins took an early lead, scoring seven runs in the first three innings. Houston tried to come back after a rough start for Hunter Brown, but Minnesota won 9-3, tying the series and reducing the Stros’ record to 46-43.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN:

The game didn’t start as expected for the Astros. Houston ended the first inning down three runs and down three runs, as Alex Bregman flied out to right field, and Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez grounded out.

Minnesota got to work offensively in the bottom of the first inning when Will Castro led off with a single. Carlos Correa reached first base on an infield single, then Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single to left field for the game’s first run. Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown loaded the bases with no outs when he hit Jose Miranda with a pitch. Carlos Santana grounded out, but Max Kepler hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in another run.

The Twins extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning after the Astros failed to put a runner on base. Ryan Jeffers reached base on an infield single and advanced to second when Brooks Lee grounded out. Castro drove in Jeffers with a double to right field. After that, Miranda and Santana followed with RBI singles to center field to give Minnesota a 5-0 lead.

Houston scored its first run of the game in the top of the third inning. Mauricio Dubon doubled to right and scored on a double by Bregman after Chas McCormick and Joey Loperfido struck out. Bregman advanced in the third on a foul ball by Twins starter Joe Ryan, but Pena grounded out to the pitcher’s mound.

Minnesota scored again in the next inning when Byron Buxton singled to lead off the game and Lee hit a two-run home run over right-center field to take a 7-1 lead after three innings.

Jon Singleton responded in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run hit in the same zone as Lee’s home run to cut Houston’s deficit to four runs. Later in the sixth inning, Alvarez was hit by a pitch and was pulled for the remainder of the game after the inning and was replaced by Grae Kessinger.

Despite Brown’s struggles through the first three innings, the 25-year-old right-hander battled back, pitching scoreless pitches from the fourth through sixth innings. Brown allowed 10 hits in the bottom of the third, but gave up just two more over the next three innings and struck out six batters to keep Houston in the game.

Rafael Montero replaced Brown in the seventh and forced Santana into a groundout, but Kepler singled past second base and Buxton hit a two-run shot over the left-field wall to give Minnesota a six-run lead.

Kaleb Ort made his Astros debut in the eighth and quickly struck out the Twins, striking out Correa and Larnach to give Houston one more chance to send the game into overtime or win it in the ninth.

The Astros, however, failed to score a run, with Dubon and Trey Cabbage retired by Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar and Loperfido thrown out at second base. The latter out secured Minnesota’s 9-3 victory Saturday, improving Houston’s record to 46-43 on the season.

LARGE NUMBER : 21

There weren’t as many as last night’s game, but there were still 21 hits in Saturday’s game, with Minnesota recording 14 of those hits (10 in the first three innings) while the other seven came from Houston.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Byron Buxton

Buxton helped seal the Twins’ 9-3 victory Saturday by going 2-in-4, scoring twice and hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning.

UP NEXT: Game 3 between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins is scheduled for Sunday, July 7. First pitch at Target Field is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. The Astros will pitch at 12:40 p.m. and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.