ASTROS ADVANCE AFTER SWEEP OF TWINS

The underdog Astros advanced to the second round of the American League playoffs with a 3-1 win over Minnesota, Wednesday.

The win gave Houston a 2-games-to-none sweep over the A.L. Central champs and a berth in the second round against either Oakland or the Chicago White Sox.

Carlos Correa broke a 1-1 tie with a solo homer in the seventh.  Kyle Tucker added an insurance run in the ninth with an rbi-single that drove in Michael Brantley.

Christian Javier picked up the win with three scoreless innings of relief.  Ryan Pressley garnered the save with a scoreless ninth.

The Twins were heavily favored against the Astros who sported a losing record in the regular season (29-31), and had one the league’s worst road records at 9-23.

The A’s and White Sox will break their 1-1 tie, Thursday with the rubber game at 2:00 in Oakland.  The game can be seen on ESPN.

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS, WEDNESDAY
GAME-2, ASTROS 3       MINNESOTA 1  (HOU, 2-0)
GAME-2, OAKLAND 5     CHICAGO W.S. 3  (1-1) GAME-3, 2:00 @ OAKLAND (ESPN)
GAME-2, TAMPA BAY 8      TORONTO 2  (TB, 2-0)
GAME-2, N.Y. YANKEES 10     CLEVELAND 9  (NY, 2-0)
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS, WEDNESDAY
FLORIDA 5      CHICAGO CUBS 1   GAME-2, 1:00 (ABC)
ATLANTA 1     CINCINNATI 0 -13-   GAME-2, 11:00 (ESPN)
ST. LOUIS 7      SAN DIEGO 4   GAME-2, 6:00 (ESPN)
LA DODGERS 4     MILWAUKEE 2   GAME-2, 9:00 (ESPN)