The Twins and Joe Ryan were done in by the Astros on Tuesday night, thanks to a huge 4th inning and a grand slam. They play the rubber match in Houston Wednesday night.
Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton did share a brief update on centerfielder Byron Buxton who has missed the first two games in Houston, and remains day-to-day with an impingement in the hip.
"When we get to the ballpark today, we'll see where he's at, we'll see where the improvement's at," Shelton told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News. "At some point this morning, you know, I'll either talk to him or share a text with him just to see how it's going. But it's important for us to get him back. I think after we got the MRI result, and we saw that it wasn't anything significant, it's just a matter of building back up."
Shelton said they'll monitor Buxton's volume in the coming days, with an off day on Thursday, followed by a three-game series in New York. That is followed by another off day Monday, which gives Buxton some extra time if he's not ready to go against the Yankees.
"It's just monitoring Buck's volumes because it's very clear, you know, what the impact is when he's on the field, not only offensively, but in centerfield," added Shelton who did confirm Buxton will be out Wednesday night.
Ryan definitely had a off-night on Tuesday.
With Houston facing a three-run deficit after three innings, Cam Smith and Taylor Trammell singled in the fourth. With runners at the corners, Yainer Diaz hit an RBI single. Raynel Delgato walked, loading the bases. Jose Altuve challenged his strikeout call with a full count. The call was overturned and another run scored. Alvarez then hit his 26th home run of the season to right-center field.
Shelton said the walks from Ryan are unusual. But he added a lost challenge also hurt Ryan.
"Challenging night last night for Joe Ryan," Shelton said. "I mean, you don't see him like that very much where it was uncharacteristic of the situation where he walks two guys in a row. I mean, The grand slam was definitely a hard hit ball. The singles before that were just ground balls that basically found holes and I think to your point there, the Altuve one was the one that after the ABF challenge that we lost, was kind of the one that put the dagger in us before Alvarez's grand slam."
Game three of the series is Wednesday night before the Twins play three straight at Yankee stadium Friday through Sunday.
Minnesota Twins (41-46, third in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (43-45, third in the AL West)
Houston; Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. Pregame 6:30 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy app (in-market only)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Taj Bradley (6-3, 3.98 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 91 strikeouts); Astros: Tatsuya Imai (5-3, 5.36 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 58 strikeouts)
LINE: Astros -132, Twins +108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins play on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
Houston has a 43-45 record overall and a 21-22 record at home. The Astros have the ninth-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .316.
Minnesota has a 41-46 record overall and a 19-23 record in road games. The Twins have a 17-37 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.
Wednesday's game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Twins have a 3-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes has 16 doubles and 11 home runs for the Astros. Cam Smith is 7 for 34 with four home runs over the last 10 games.
Byron Buxton leads the Twins with 25 home runs while slugging .573. Victor Caratini is 12 for 35 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .228 batting average, 3.56 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Twins: 5-5, .268 batting average, 5.50 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Astros: Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (calf), Braden Shewmake: 10-Day IL (groin), Bennett Sousa: 15-Day IL (elbow), LaMonte Wade: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Twins: Byron Buxton: day-to-day (hip), Anthony Banda: 15-Day IL (lat), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (elbow), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (hand), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Shelton said they'll monitor Buxton's volume in the coming days with an off-day Thursday and a series in New York
Shelton said they'll monitor Buxton's volume in the coming days with an off-day Thursday and a series in New York
