Yordan Alvarez hit two home runs, Jeremy Pena had three hits and Houston pitching continued its dominating run as the Astros rolled past the homestanding Minnesota Twins 5-0 on Thursday in the second game of an afternoon doubleheader in Minneapolis.
The Astros captured the first game earlier 11-3 in a game that was resumed in the fourth inning after being postponed from Wednesday.
Houston swept the three-game series from the Twins, outscoring Minnesota 21-3, and has won 10 straight games — all since second baseman Jose Altuve returned from a stint on the injured list.
The Astros have not allowed more than three runs in a game since an 11-7 win at Toronto on April 29. Houston has five shutouts in its 10-game winning streak and has surrendered just 11 runs total in the 10 games.
Luis Garcia (3-1) pitched five innings for the Astros, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out nine — which matched his season high, posted during his previous start on Saturday.
Chas McCormick’s RBI single in the second started the scoring for Houston, and Alvarez bashed a two-run home run in the third to extend the lead. Pena plated Jason Castro with an infield single in the fourth.
Alvarez then capped the offense with a solo home run in the ninth. It was the 10th multi-homer game of Alvarez’s four-year career.
Minnesota produced just seven hits off the four Houston pitchers in Thursday’s nightcap. Luis Arraez and Nick Gordon had two hits each.
The Twins have dropped three straight contests after winning seven of their previous nine. Minnesota did not have a starting pitcher go more than four innings in the three games.
Josh Winder (2-1) took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked three.
Pena was forced from the game in the fourth inning after tweaking his right knee legging out the third of his hits, an infield single. He is listed as day-to-day as Houston heads to the District of Columbia for a three-game series against the Nationals.
–Field Level Media
