The Minnesota Twins earned a valuable victory in enemy territory to even the series at one game apiece.
The Twins got a strong start from starter Pablo Lopez and a big hit from shortstop Carlos Correa to take a 6-2 victory in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Monday to even the series at 1-1.
Correa, 29, a cleanup hitter, has a reputation as one of Major League Baseball’s most unlikable players. He was a member of Houston’s first World Series championship in 2017, but along with second baseman Jose Altuve, he is considered one of the leading autograph stealers. Instead of apologizing for stealing autographs, he has become a public enemy with his provocative comments to Dodgers players he faced in the WS.
This ALDS matchup against defending WS Houston is of interest because it’s a homecoming. Correa is a native of Puerto Rico and was drafted No. 1 overall by Houston in 2012. He was a very good shortstop before he got caught up in an autograph stealing scandal. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2015.
Even though Correa has been publicized as a public enemy, he is very strong in the postseason. In short, he’s a postseason guy. In Game 2, he opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double off his old teammate, Frammer Valdez. He hit his first postseason home run (a two-run shot) in the second inning, then followed it up with a two-run double in the fifth to make it 3-0.
Correa added three RBIs to move into a tie for third place on the postseason RBI list with 63. Former New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams is first with 80 and Manny Ramirez is second with 78. He was 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and three RBIs.
The Twins, who gave up two home runs to Jordan Alvarez in a 6-4 loss in Game 1, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and starter Lopez used his awl delivery to stifle the Astros’ offense. Lopez, 27, also picked up the win in Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing one run on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5.2 innings. In Game 2 of the ALDS, he pitched seven innings of six-hit, one-walk, seven-strikeout ball to earn the win. Alvarez hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving him three homers in two games.
López was acquired from the Miami-Dade Marlins last offseason in exchange for Twins slugger Luis Arajuez and has established himself as the team’s ace. He went 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA in 194 regular-season innings this year, earning his first career All-Star nod. He was born in Venezuela to parents who are both doctors. He graduated from high school at 16 and was accepted into medical school, but chose baseball instead. His parents wanted him to study medicine. In addition to his native Spanish, he speaks English, Italian, and Portuguese.
This postseason, the Twins won the series and advanced to the ALDS for the first time in 21 years since 2002. In the WC, they swept Toronto in two games and faced off against the West Division champion Astros. They went 1-1 on the road to return to Target Field for Games 3 and 4, taking away home-field advantage.온라인카지노
Leading 6-2 in the ninth, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli brought in closer John Duran in a non-save situation to end the game.
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