Astros 6, Twins 5
Trevor Crowe drove in the winning run in the ninth as host Houston avoided a season sweep against Minnesota.
After Erik Bedard (4-10) was unable to hold a late two-run lead, Jonathan Villar led off the ninth with a single off Brian Duensing (6-2) and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jose Altuve. Two pitches later, Crowe lined a single to left to give the Astros their 10th win in their final at-bat.
Altuve had two hits and scored twice while Brett Wallace and Chris Carter each recorded two hits and a run scored for the Astros, who were swept by the Twins in a three-game set in Minnesota from Aug. 2-4. Alex Presley - acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Justin Morneau trade on Saturday - went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for the Twins.
The Astros struck for three first-inning runs courtesy of Wallace’s RBI double, Marc Krauss’ run-scoring single to right and a sacrifice fly from Brandon Barnes. Presley evened it in the third when he ended a 13-pitch at-bat with a three-run blast off the second-deck facade in right for his first homer as a Twin.
Houston scored a run apiece in the fourth and fifth on a pair of RBI singles from Crowe and Barnes, but Bedard could not hold the lead as Darin Mastroianni’s RBI eighth-inning groundout and Ryan Doumit’s solo shot to open the ninth tied the game at 5-5.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Presley is 7-for-18 in four games with Minnesota. … The Astros, the third-lowest scoring offense in the majors, plated 18 runs in the three-game series. ... The Twins fell to 17-8 against American League West opponents this season.