Houston laid the hammer down in Game 3, with its biggest bats — Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Abreu all homered — busting out en route to a 9-1 romp that puts the Astros back in control of this ALDS. They’re now one win away from what would be a whopping seventh consecutive ALCS appearance, while the Minnesota Twins hope to recapture the pitching form that carried it this far after a couple rough starts from Bailey Ober and Sonny Gray.
The Astros will send Jose Urquidy (3-3, 5.29 ERA) to the mound looking to punch their ticket to the ALCS, while the Twins give the ball to Joe Ryan (11-10, 4.51) in a must-win spot. Minnesota enters as -125 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Houston at +105. The run total is set at 8.
The Twins have released their lineup for today’s game, so let’s take a look at how they’ll line up against Urquidy.
Twins starting lineup, ALDS Game 4, October 11
Your #MNTwins lineup for the fourth (final?) game of the series against the Astros
— Twins Talk (@LetsTalk_Twins) October 11, 2023
1. Edouard Julien DH
2. Jorge Polanco 2B
3. Royce Lewis 3B
4. Max Kepler RF
5. Carlos Correa SS
6. Ryan Jeffers C
7. Willi Castro LF
8. Donovan Solano 1B
9. Michael A. Taylor CF
Joe Ryan P
Rocco Baldelli has made a couple of changes in this must-win spot, both to the bottom of his order: Donovan Solano will start at first over Alex Kirilloff — whose first-inning error in Game 3 caused the flood gates to open — while Michael A. Taylor will man center field in place of Willi Castro, who shifts over to left field in lieu of Matt Wallner. Other than that, the top of Minnesota’s batting order is the same, with Edouard Julien leading off followed by Jorge Polanco, Royce Lewis, Max Kepler and Carlos Correa.
