The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins split the first two games of the American League Division Series this past weekend, and now the scene shifts to Target Field. This best-of-five series is now a best-of-three, and the Twins have home-field advantage.
Minnesota. The team avoided the dreaded 2-0 series hole and also gives them up with a chance to take the ALDS without having to go back to Houston. The Twins also have the starting pitching advantage in Game 3, at least on paper. The Astros won't go down quietly, of course, but Minnesota must feel pretty good about the current state of affairs.
The Twins won both of their AL Wild Card Series games at Target Field in front of a raucous crowd, which figures to be even louder for sold-out Games 3 and 4. The Astros are no slouch on the road, though, going 51-30 away from home this year, winning 14 of their final 17 games away from Minute Maid Park.
Houston went 5-1 on the road in last year’s playoffs, including series-clinching wins at Seattle and the Bronx against the Yankees.
Sonny Gray, who will make his second start of this postseason. Gray pitched five scoreless innings in a win over the Blue Jays in the wild-card series. He was 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA over 184 innings in 32 starts in the regular season.
In five career playoff starts, Gray is 1-2 with a 2.39 ERA. He has 24 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings.
Gray, 33, is 4-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 12 career starts against the Astros.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said his players, led by Correa, would be focused for Game 3.
The national anthem will be performed by vocalist Aby Wolf, classily accompanied by a number of brass instrumentalists from the Minnesota Orchestra.
Downtown residents will want to be aware that there will be a pregame flyover featuring two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Minnesota National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing. Loud noises of a more rhythmic type will be emanating from Gate 34, where DJ Dudley D will be spinning plenty of Minneapolis-flavored jams.
Gray is pitching with the renewed love and joy for the game his sons have given him, and he channeled that into five scoreless innings against the Blue Jays in the clinching Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series last Tuesday. Counting that appearance, Gray has a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts since the beginning of August. His best start of the regular season came at Target Field against the Astros on April 7, when he allowed one run in seven innings to go with 13 strikeouts.
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