Framber Valdez looked like his old self on the mound on Saturday, throwing six no-hit innings as the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2. It didn’t hurt that Valdez had some home-run power from his Astros teammates. Yordan Alvarez greeted June with two home runs, while Kyle Tucker hit his 19th on the season. Jose Abreu added his first homer this season to the total.
Valdez, 4-3, had his curveball working magnificently. Twins hitters found themselves befuddled by his pitching. They couldn’t muster a hit over the game’s first six innings. Yet in the seventh, Twins right fielder Manuel Margot led off with a single to center field. Jose Miranda’s RBI single in the seventh got Minnesota on the board.
Minnesota’s Small Fight Back Fails
Former Houston Astros player Carlos Correa notched an RBI single in the eighth off reliever Bryan Abreu. But that was all Minnesota would get on Saturday at Minute Maid Park. They did put runners on the corners in the eighth. Abreu got out of the jam, though. Josh Hader came on in the ninth, continuing his recent excellent work out of the bullpen. He picked up his eighth save this season.
Hader has been whittling his high early-season ERA down in his recent outings. The Astros bullpen, as a whole, has tightened up its work, too. They were off to a horrendous start, much like the overall team. Yet Hader, Abreu, Ryan Pressly (for the most part), and Seth Martinez have been doing better.
Alvarez, after Tucker reached base, took a pitch from Twins starter Joe Ryan, 4-4, over the right-field wall for a 2-0 Astros lead. In the second inning, Abreu went to the opposite field in right for his homer, making it 3-0 in the third.
Tucker, who has slowed down a little bit after a torrid start, pulled a Ryan pitch to right field. It was another solo homer for the Astros, putting them up 4-0.
Alvarez added his second homer on the day, a solo shot, in the fifth inning for a 5-0 lead. Through Saturday’s games, he’s now tied with late Astros first baseman Bob Watson for 10th in team homers with 139. Alvarez had three hits on the game, posting exit velocities at 113.8, 109.5, and 105.3, respectively.
Houston Astros Welcome Jose Abreu’s Power Surge
It was a welcome sight for many Astros fans to see Jose Abreu hit that homer. Abreu started this season in an offensive funk. This led to him going down to the minor leagues for a bit. He spent some time at the team’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility, working on his hitting. Abreu then made a stop at the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys before rejoining the Astros.
Jon Singleton took up most of the time at first base in Abreu’s absence. Singleton put up some decent numbers, too, while playing pretty solid defense. With Abreu back now, Astros Manager Joe Espada will have to decide how that time at first base is split up.
The Astros, after getting off to a horrible 10-19 start in March and April, ended up 15-13 in May. Overall, they sit at 26-33 for the season in the American League West. Minnesota falls to 33-26 in the American League Central with the loss.
On Sunday, Hunter Brown, 1-5 with a 6.39 ERA, gets the start for the Astros. The Twins will counter with Simeon Woods Richardson, 2-0. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Woods Richardson. He was born in Sugar Land, which is just down the road from Houston.
Sunday’s game will be available on the Roku Channel as part of a Sunday morning MLB package.
Meanwhile, Astros fans are still waiting to hear about the status of injured pitchers Christian Javier and Jose Urquidy. Espada reportedly did not offer an update on their status before Saturday’s game. It appears that Javier and Urquidy are looking for another opinion from doctors.
About the Author
Joe Rutland is an author, writer, and editor whose work has appeared on numerous large-scale digital platforms. Among them are Entrepreneur, The Good Men Project, The Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and Elite Daily. Rutland is on X @JosephRutland5.
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