Clemens Bomb Breaks Houston Open as Minnesota Rolls 8-3

Kody Clemens hit a 399-foot home run to right center in the second inning that swung Houston's win probability from 33% to 15%, and the Astros never recovered. Minnesota pounded out an 8-3 victory behind three home runs and a dominant 11-strikeout outing from Taj Bradley.

The game turned ugly for Houston before it ever had a chance to get interesting. Josh Bell set the tone immediately, launching a 452-foot shot to center in the first inning that scored Trevor Larnach and put Minnesota up 2-0. Houston clawed one back on a Paredes groundout double play that scored Altuve, but that brief flicker of life was all the Astros would get for a long time. In the second, Clemens stepped in and ended the competitive portion of the evening — his three-run homer to right center, scoring Keaschall and Lee, pushed the lead to 5-1 and dropped Houston's win probability to 15%. That was the ballgame, effectively, in the second inning.

The story of the night was how thoroughly Minnesota dismantled this thing from every angle. Taj Bradley was sharp on the mound — 5.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 11 strikeouts against 3 walks. That's a starter doing exactly what a rotation piece needs to do when his offense is putting up crooked numbers early. Larnach added a two-run single to center in the fifth that made it 7-1, and Luke Keaschall — who crossed the plate three times — capped the scoring with a solo shot to left center in the eighth. Keaschall's night looks like the kind of quiet, multi-faceted performance that doesn't show up in a headline but absolutely shows up in a win column: one hit, one homer, one RBI, and three runs scored.

For Houston, Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-4 and was the one bright spot in an otherwise flat offensive showing. The Astros bullpen — Ullola and Abreu combined for 4.0 innings and 6 strikeouts — actually held Minnesota in check late, but by then the deficit was insurmountable. AJ Blubaugh lasted only 2.2 innings as the damage was done well before the middle frames. Minnesota's three home runs covered 1,224 combined feet and came from three different hitters, which appears to signal a lineup that's clicking up and down the order rather than leaning on one bat. Houston, meanwhile, managed just 3 runs on a night when their best hitter was the only one who showed up. That's a recipe for exactly this kind of result.