HOUSTON — Just about everything was going wrong for the Minnesota Twins, but then the seventh inning happened.
Jorge Polanco sent a 2-0 pitch to the second deck in right field to cut a five-run deficit down to two. Royce Lewis followed that up with a home run of his own, and all of a sudden the lackluster Twins had hope.
The comeback, however, ended there.
Houston’s Yordan Álvarez connected on his second home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh to help the Astros survive 6-4 against the surging Twins Saturday, and take an early hold of the American League Division Series.
For the Twins, the first six innings were just too much to overcome.
For Minnesota starter Bailey Ober, the game couldn’t have started much worse. After just one pitch, the 28-year-old righty was already facing an early deficit. Houston’s José Altuve jumped on the game’s first pitch to give the Astros the early advantage and Álvarez’s two-run homer in the third stretched the lead to 3-0. Minnesota’s bullpen surrendered two more runs before Polanco provided the spark.
Lewis, who also had a pair of homers in Game 1 of the Twins' American League Wild Card series, had an opportunity to give the Twins an early lead in the first inning with runners on first and second. Instead, the rookie grounded into a double play, the first of his two missed opportunities with runners in scoring position. With Edouard Julien standing on third, Max Kepler drew a walk but Verlander got Alex Kirilloff to ground out to end the threat.
Lewis had another chance with a runner in scoring position in the third inning, but failed to deliver. Lewis grounded to third and Alex Bregman got caught on the base paths for the second out. Kepler eventually struck out to give Houston starter Justin Verlander his third scoreless inning to start the game.
The three-time Cy Young winner pitched six scoreless innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen in the seventh.
The Twins will have a chance to even the series Sunday before returning to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Tuesday. The Twins swept the Blue Jays in two games at Target Field to snap a 21-year postseason series drought on Oct. 4.
Pablo López is slated to take the bump for the Twins while Framber Valdez will go for the Astros. López is coming off a solid outing against the Blue Jays where he allowed just one run over 5⅔ in a winning effort. Framber hasn't pitched in 11 days, and only lasted four innings after surrendering three runs on five hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Manager Rocco Baldelli said Lewis wasn’t quite ready to play the field as the DH continues to recover from a hamstring injury. “He’s in a good spot to help us win games right now, but he’s just not in a place where I feel comfortable yet, the medical staff feels comfortable yet, just sticking him at third base,” Baldelli said. He added that Lewis could return to the field at some point during this series.
Astros: Relief pitcher Kendall Graveman was left off the ALDS roster because of discomfort in his right shoulder. He said he’s feeling better and hopes to be available if the Astros advance.
UP NEXT
López (11-8, 3.66 ERA) won Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, allowing five hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings.
Valdez (12-11, 3.45), who threw a no-hitter against Cleveland in August, was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in his last five regular-season starts.
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