Next up for the Minnesota Twins: The defending world champion Houston Astros. The two teams will battle in the American League Divisional Series starting Saturday.
The Astros were winners of the AL West while the Twins won the AL Central. The Twins won 87 games. Houston won 90. It's a fairly even matchup.
Here are three things to watch for in the series as the Twins look for their first ALCS since 2002.
Matchups So Far in 2023
First, these two teams played in the postseason recently. In a two-game Wild Card matchup in 2020, Houston rolled over the Twins at Target Field 4-1 and 3-1. The Twins just couldn't get anything going offensively against Houston who eventually lost in seven games to Tampa in the ALCS.
But those were very different teams than we'll see in this year's ALDS.
Minnesota went 4-2 against Houston in the regular season. The won a series at home in April and another at Minute Maid Park in late May.
That means it has been a long time since the two teams have seen each other. In fact, the three starters Houston will throw at the Twins in games one through three haven't faced the Twins at all this season. And the Twins Pablo Lopez who won game one against Toronto in the Wild Card Series, hasn't pitched against Houston.
The Twins are very different than they were in April and May. The team's tremendous rookies, Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien, weren't playing. Alex Kirilloff was trying to get back from wrist surgery.
Plus there's no Byron Buxton (presumably) who is still battling injuries. Nick Gordon is out with injury. Joey Gallo wasn't even put on the postseason roster. Those three players were key parts of the team earlier in the season.
Much of what we'll see in this series will be new. What won't be new? The Astros winning in the postseason. Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey said on Thursday it is a major challenge to knock off the defending champions.
"Certainly now, we're ready to go down there," explains Falvey. "They're World Series champs, and they've been in that seat for a long time. They're a really good team, they've been a really good team for a long time. We respect everything that they do. So we're going to have to play our A game to keep up with that. They're rested, they're ready. Hopefully we're ready to go. Getting these two days certainly helps. We'll see how everything shakes out come Saturday."
If you need proof, the Astros are trying to beat Minnesota to reach their seventh (!!!!) straight American League Championship Series.
Pitching Matchup
As is always the case in the postseason, pitching will be the key. It certainly was for the Twins against Toronto. Lopez, Sonny Gray and the bullpen were tremendous, giving up only one run in two games.
One key question right now is who starts for the Twins in game one? Lopez and Gray are clearly numbers one and two, but there are options at three. It likely will come down to Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan.
Ober has been more consistent this year, Ryan more dynamic. But Ryan struggled in one start in Houston earlier this year. The Twins have a tough choice to make.
Then it's back to Lopez-Gray for games two and three.
For Houston, games one through three are set. It'll be veteran Justin Verlander in game one, and Framber Valdez for game two. Cristian Javier probably starts in game three. And yes, Verlander is still pitching well. The Mets traded him back to Houston in the middle of the year and he finished the season strong. Not to mention he brings a ton of playoff experience with him. He’s also 22-10 with a 2.76 ERA in 40 career starts against the Twins.
When it comes to the bullpen, it's a strength for both teams. Both are fairly well-rested, and both have a ton of hard-throwing options. Runs will definitely be at a premium in this series.
A Former Astro is Key for the Twins
We saw how valuable Carlos Correa is during the postseason in both games against Toronto. Numerous great defensive plays, unbelievable awareness, and drove in a the first run of the game two on Wednesday.
What Correa did for several seasons in Houston, he's now doing for Minnesota, and he will be a major factor in determining if the Twins can win another series.
First, they'll need his bat. Despite beating Toronto, runs were hard to come by and that's only going to get harder against Houston. Correa is capable of big postseason hits. He's in the top six all-time in postseason RBI's for a reason. The Twins are going to need him to deliver if they're going to win.
Second, his leadership for a team leaning hard on very young players will be crucial. He was in the ear of Twins players constantly in the Wild Card games. Expect him to be very vocal again in this series and try to lead by example.
"When he ended up falling back into our laps, I don't think any of us could how it happened," Twins Catcher Ryan Jeffers said on Thursday. "We knew what a big piece he would play in the goals to get where we are right now."
It's a big reason the Twins were willing to invest big dollars in the star shortstop.
Game One of the ALDS begins Saturday at 3:45 p.m with the pregame show starting at 2:45. You can hear the game on 830 WCCO, 102.9 The Wolf, and the Audacy App.
We'll have full coverage before and after the games on WCCO Radio. Steve Thomson will have an extended pregame show from 12:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Following the Twins-Astros, we'll have an extended postgame with your calls on the home for Twins Baseball, News Talk 830 WCCO!
Game Two- Sunday, 10/8, 7:03 p.m. First Pitch
Game Three- Tuesday, 10/10, 3:07 p.m. First Pitch
Game Four- Wednesday, 10/11, TBD (If Necessary)
Game Five- Friday, 10/13, TBD (If Necessary)