These days, the Twins can’t even get a blowout victory right.

Minnesota built a six-run lead through four innings Sunday, then watched the Astros make it disappear. Yordan Alvarez tied the game by bashing a two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the ninth, and Jose Altuve singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th, allowing Houston to steal a 9-7 victory and win two of the three games in the series.

That outcome would have seemed unfathomable to the 14,638 in attendance a few hours earlier, after the Twins knocked Houston starter Ronel Blanco out in just 1⅔ innings, collecting five hits, two walks and four runs. Back-to-back doubles in the fourth inning by Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach produced another three runs off reliever Luis Contreras, and the Twins appeared on the way to their fourth win in five games.

But the Astros weren’t done — and the Twins, it turned out, were. Minnesota never got another runner past second base, even in the 10th, when the inning started with one there.

Houston, meanwhile, kept chipping away. When five straight hitters reached base to open the fifth inning, Chris Paddack’s day was done, having allowed four runs. Reliever Darren McCaughan surrendered two singles and a walk in the sixth, closing the gap to 7-5.

And all that set up Alvarez’s dramatic home run off Jax in the ninth.

Houston quickly claimed the win in the 10th, first with Chas McCormick’s sacrifice bunt that moved courtesy runner Brendan Rodgers to third base. Louie Varland walked Jake Meyers, who immediately stole second base. Altuve followed with his second hit of the day, a solid single to right field that scored Rodgers.