Carlos Correa went 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI and Pablo Lopez pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros, leveling the best-of-five American League Divisional Series at one game apiece.
Correa put the Twins up 1-0 in the first inning with a RBI double off the wall in left-center, scoring Jorge Polanco who was running from first with two outs.
Carlos Correa feels right at home at Minute Maid Park
đź“ş: @FS1 pic.twitter.com/S6TyHyO2Hc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 9, 2023
Kyle Farmer gave the Twins a 3-0 lead on a two-run homer over the wall in left in the second inning. It was Farmer’s first career postseason hit as he got the start at third base because the Twins went with a right-handed heavy lineup against Astros lefty Framber Valdez.
In the fourth, Twins ace Pablo Lopez got into a bit of trouble but he struck out Chas McCormick to strand runners at first and third and keep the Twins up by three. Then in the top of the fifth the Twins put runners on second and third with one out and Royce Lewis and Correa due up.
Lopez pitched seven innings and allowed just six hits and struck out seven. The right-handed needed 105 pitches after throwing 93 pitches in 5.1 innings of Minnesota’s win over Toronto in the first playoff game last week. For the postseason, Lopez has allowed just one run in 12.1 innings.
Lewis walked and Correa delivered a two-run single to make it 5-0 Twins. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Correa’s 63 RBIs in his postseason career move him ahead of David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, tied with David Justice for the third most playoff RBI since 1920.
Carlos Correa passes Derek Jeter and David Ortiz to move into a tie for third all-time on the playoff RBIs list with 63! pic.twitter.com/YSpKrRuOoH
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 9, 2023
In the seventh, Lewis reached with a one-out walk and Correa hit another ringing double off the left-field wall to put runners at second and third with one out. Ryan Jeffers was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Willi Castro struck out and then Eddy Julien, pinch-hitting for Farmer, ripped a single to right that scored Lewis, though Correa was thrown out at the plate by Kyle Tucker.
Leading 6-0 in the eighth, Brock Stewart relieved Lopez and served up a two-run homer to Yordano Alvarez, his third of the series. But Stewart got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning and put the game in the hands of Twins closer Jhoan Duran.
Duran cruised through a 1-2-3 ninth and he needed just six pitches to do it.
Up next: Game 3 at Minnesota on Tuesday at 3:07 p.m. CT.
