After sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the best-of-three Wild Card round, the Minnesota Twins now turn their attention to the Houston Astros for a best-of-five American League Division Series.
Major League Baseball unveiled start times for Games 1-3 on Thursday morning. Here’s how it looks, starting with Game 1 Saturday in Houston.
- Game 1: Twins at Astros, Saturday, Oct. 7 at 3:45 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
- Game 2: Twins at Astros, Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7:03 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
- Game 3: Astros at Twins, Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 3:07 p.m. (FOX)
- Game 4: Astros at Twins, Wednesday, Oct. 11* (Time TBD)
- Game 5: Twins at Astros, Friday, Oct. 13* (Time TBD)
* – if necessary
The Twins went 4-2 against the Astros during the regular season.
It’s unclear who the Twins will start Saturday in Game 1 because ace Pablo Lopez pitched Tuesday against the Blue Jays. If he gets the Game 1 start he’d be pitching on just three full days rest.
Justin Verlander is the guaranteed starter in Game 1 for Astros and left-hander Framber Valdez is believed to be the Game 2 starter for Houston.
Minnesota could go with Joe Ryan or Kenta Maeda in Game 1 and then give Lopez the ball for Game 2 on Sunday, followed by Sonny Gray in Game 3 next Tuesday. Gray pitched five shutout innings against the Blue Jays to help the Twins advance.
Astros hitters are a combined 9 for 50 lifetime against Maeda. Houston hitters aren’t much better lifetime against Ryan, going a combined 11 for 53.
