MINNEAPOLIS — The thunderstorm that prematurely ended Wednesday's game had moved on by Thursday. Unfortunately for the Twins, the Astros' thunder and lightning had not.
Houston completed the victory it started the day before by tacking on six more runs for an 11-3 victory, then completed the three-game sweep of the Twins by shutting them out in the regularly scheduled game. The 5-0 finale means the Astros outscored the Twins 21-3 during their three-day stay, and, starting with Justin Verlander's no-hit flirtation Tuesday, it never felt that close.
Josh Winder, who didn't give up an earned run in his first two major-league starts against the Rays and A's, found the Astros lineup much tougher. The righthander surrendered six hits and four runs, including a two-run blast over the center field fence by Yordan Alvarez, while lasting only 3⅓ innings. The bullpen shut out the Astros until the ninth, when Alvarez added a solo homer into the bullpen off another rookie, Cole Sands, but the Twins had no firepower to challenge them.
