Framber Valdez carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning while Yordan Alvarez produced his first multi-homer game in five weeks as the Houston Astros slugged four home runs in a 5-2 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Valdez (4-3) recorded his fifth quality start by working seven innings for the fourth time this season. He faced the minimum through six innings and had 65 pitches on his ledger entering the seventh. Twins right fielder Manuel Margot ended the no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the seventh.
Margot was the first batter to reach base against Valdez when he worked a leadoff walk in the fourth. Two batters later, Valdez induced the first of his two double plays, closing that frame by getting Ryan Jeffers to tap a ground ball back to the mound. When Valdez hit Kyle Farmer with a pitch to open the sixth, he followed by getting Carlos Santana to ground into a double play, the league-leading 13th double play induced by Valdez.
Minnesota finally broke through in the seventh when Valdez uncorked a pair of wild pitches, the first allowing Margot to take second base and subsequently score when Jose Miranda dumped a two-out single into center field. Valdez eluded additional damage and completed his outing having allowed one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts over seven innings.
Alvarez clubbed both of his homers off Twins starter Joe Ryan (4-4), who surrendered one run over 14 innings in his two previous starts. Alvarez spotted the Astros a 2-0 lead in the first when he followed a Kyle Tucker walk with a 403-foot blast to right field for his 10th home run this season.
Astros first baseman Jose Abreu slugged his first home run an inning later, an opposite-field shot to right-center that extended the lead to 3-0. Tucker stretched that advantage to 4-0 when he socked his 19th home run to right-center with one out in the third. Alvarez struck again in the fifth with a 390-foot shot to right for his first multi-homer game since April 27 at Colorado.
Ryan allowed a season-high five runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts over five innings.
Astros closer Josh Hader notched his eighth save with a perfect ninth.
–Field Level Media