José Abreu hit a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot as part of a four-run first inning, to help the Houston Astros defeat the Minnesota Twins 9-1 in Game 3 and take a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-five ALDS.
"This was one of the reasons why I signed with this organization, to be in the best situation and compete," Abreu said postgame, according to The Associated Press.
Yordan Alvarez continued his postseason dominance with three hits on Tuesday, including his fourth home run of the series.
"Probably the best hitter in baseball right now," Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said of Alvarez following the game. "The way he hits, his approach, his discipline at home plate. He gets his pitch and it seems he wants to hit it out every time."
Astros right-hander Cristian Javier was sharp, holding the Twins scoreless across five innings with nine strikeouts to earn the win.
Javier joined Christy Mathewson, Whitey Ford, and Kenny Rogers as the fourth pitcher in postseason history with at least three straight scoreless starts of at least five innings, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.
The Twins struggled to capitalize with runners in scoring position, finishing the game with one hit across nine at-bats and leaving nine on base. They mustered just four hits in 27 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first three games of the series.
Twins right-hander Sonny Gray allowed two home runs in a start for the first time in 2023. Gray only permitted eight home runs in 32 regular-season starts.
"We were fighting an uphill battle as a team. I was fighting an uphill battle every inning," Gray said.
The Astros will look to advance to a seventh straight ALCS when the two teams play Game 4 on Wednesday.