MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins will hand the ball to Bailey Ober Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, hoping the 28-year-old right-hander can match the performances put on by fellow starters Pablo López and Sonny Gray.
Ober went 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 26 starts this season. He was sent to Triple-A for about a month before returning to the Twins on Sept. 15.
He was strong after his return and went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts. It will be the first career postseason start for the big right-hander who was not included on the wild-card roster. Instead, López and Gray threw a pair of gems to help the Twins sweep the Toronto Blue Jays for their first postseason series victory since 2002. López allowed just one run over 5⅔ innings, while Gray pitched five scoreless innings in the series clincher.
According to KARE 11's Julia Daniels, López and Gray are expected to start Game 2 and Game 3, respectively.
The Houston Astros will go with a three-time AL Cy Young winner in Justin Verlander, who will be making his 35th career postseason start after returning to the AL West champion Astros in a trade from the New York Mets this summer.
He was 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA in 27 starts this season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 starts for Houston after the trade.
The Astros will start left-hander Framber Valdez in Game 2 Sunday night in Houston.
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