Minnesota led by three. Then the fourth inning happened. Yordan Alvarez's grand slam to right center — 395 feet — turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead in one swing, and Houston held on from there to beat the Twins 6-4 on Tuesday night at Daikin Park.
Alvarez finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, carrying the Astros offense almost entirely on his own. The homer was his 26th of the season, and he now sits 4 away from 200 career home runs. Yainer Diaz went 1-for-3 with an RBI single that started the fourth-inning rally, and Jose Altuve drew a walk that scored a run before Alvarez delivered the decisive blow.
The Twins had built their lead quickly. Victor Caratini was hit by a pitch to bring home Trevor Larnach in the first inning, then Ryan Kreidler singled to left and Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis both scored — aided by a fielding error by left fielder Alvarez — to make it 3-0. Houston answered in the fourth: Diaz singled to score Cam Smith, Altuve walked to score Taylor Trammell, and then Alvarez cleared the bases with his homer, putting the Astros ahead 6-3. Josh Bell doubled home Clemens in the fifth to cut the margin to 6-4, but that was as close as Minnesota would get.
Joe Ryan lasted just 4.0 innings for the Twins, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts, falling to 5-5 with a 3.61 ERA. Mike Burrows went 5.0 innings for Houston, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, and earned his fourth win against eight losses. Josh Hader worked a perfect ninth — striking out two on 9 pitches — for his eighth save of the season, carrying a 0.69 ERA.
Houston improved to 42-45, snapping a one-game losing streak. Minnesota dropped to 41-45, ending a two-game winning streak. Alvarez, now with 26 home runs and 60 RBI on the season, is 4 shy of 200 career home runs.