The Sports Xchange
May 31, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS -- George Springer hit two homers among four hits and the Houston Astros hammered a season-high six home runs to complete a series sweep with a 17-6 win against the Minnesota Twins n Wednesday.
Evan Gattis had four hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs. Carlos Correa had three hits, including a two-run homer in the first inning, and drove in three runs. Alex Bregman homered for the third straight day and Marwin Gonzalez also homered as Houston won its seventh game in a row.
The Astros scored a franchise-record 40 runs in the three-game series.
Reliever Michael Feliz (2-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning for Houston.
Twins left-hander Hector Santiago (4-5) lost his third straight game, surrendering six runs on eight hits in six innings.
Springer hit his second homer of the game -- a majestic shot to the second deck in left-center field -- as the Astros scored six runs in the seventh inning after Minnesota closed to within one. It was another blow in a long series for the Twins' bullpen.
Minnesota relievers allowed 28 runs (27 earned) in nine innings in the three games.
The Twins entered the series following a deflating 15-inning loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday in which they blew through all of their relievers and were forced to have Santiago pitch the final inning. Houston's relentless offense added to the misery.
Pitching for the fifth time in eight days, Ryan Pressly started the seventh and allowed Springer's homer and a walk to Jose Altuve. Tyler Duffey entered and gave up four runs on four hits while not recording an out.
Minnesota climbed back with a solo homer by Eddie Rosario and a two-run shot by former Astro Jason Castro in the sixth before Houston broke the game open.
Astros right-hander David Paulino made his first start of the season with Joe Musgrove placed on the disabled list with shoulder discomfort.
Paulino, one of the team's top pitching prospects, finished four innings with two runs allowed on five hits. He struck out a career-best eight hitters in his fourth major league outing and second start.
NOTES: Minnesota 3B Miguel Sano was out of the lineup for the second straight day with an illness. It's just the third game Sano has missed all season. ... Houston recalled LHP Reymin Guduan from Triple-A Fresno before the game. Guduan, a reliever at Triple-A, made his major league debut with two innings pitched. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out three. ... Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey spoke with reporters before the game and said the team has narrowed down to "five or six" players for the top pick in this year's draft. ... The Astros' road trip continues Friday at Texas. Houston will have LHP Dallas Keuchel (8-0, 1.81 ERA) on the mound against Rangers RHP Yu Darvish (5-3, 2.97). ... Minnesota starts a 10-game West Coast trip at the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. Rookie LHP Adalberto Mejia (1-1, 4.64) starts for the Twins.