By Canadian Press

Verlander holds Twins scoreless, Astros power to 6-4 win in ALDS opener

Oct 7, 2023 | 6:29 PM

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and the Houston Astros held on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in their American League Division Series opener Saturday.

Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and Alvarez had three RBIs as the defending World Series champions earned their 10th straight victory in Game 1 of a Division Series.

Verlander settled in after a shaky start and the Astros built a 5-0 lead through six innings with big swings from Altuve and Alvarez.

Héctor Neris took over for Verlander to start the seventh. With two outs, Jorge Polanco hit a soaring three-run homer to right field. Two pitches later, rookie Royce Lewis launched his third homer in three playoff games to make it 5-4.

In the bottom half, Caleb Thielbar entered to face Alvarez with one out. The slugger became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Thielbar this season when he smacked an off-speed pitch off the foul pole in right to give Houston some insurance.

IN THE COMMUNITY

'Compassionate Friends' offer peer support for bereaved in Medicine Hat

13m ago

POSTAL STRIKE

Donations to Medicine Hat non-profits drop over Canada Post strike

21m ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Adopt-A-Rink program still seeking volunteers

8h ago

Bryan Abreu got four outs, striking out three, and Ryan Pressly fanned two in a scoreless ninth for the save. He struck out Lewis to end it.

The best-of-five series continues Sunday night in Houston.

Altuve pounced on Bailey Ober’s first pitch for his first career leadoff homer in the playoffs. Alvarez connected off Ober on a two-run shot in the third to make it 3-0.

The 40-year-old Verlander allowed four hits and walked three to get his 17th win in 35 post-season starts. The three-time Cy Young Award winner returned to the AL West champions this summer in a trade with the New York Mets.

—

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press