The Houston Astros bested the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, and that sets the stage for Game 2 back at Minute Maid Park.
History is working against the Twins. Across the history of best-of-five postseason series in Major League Baseball, the team that loses Game 1 goes on to win the series less than 30% of the time. That stands to reason, given that the Game 1 loser must win three of the next four in order to advance. So the Twins badly need to level those odds with a win in Game 2. The good news is that they’ll have one of their tandem aces on the mound.
You can view the full postseason schedule by clicking here, and here’s the 2023 playoff bracket. Now, let’s get to the important stuff for this ALDS.
How to watch Astros-Twins Game 2
Date: Sunday, Oct. 8 | Time: 8:03 p.m. ET
Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston, TX)
TV channel: FS1 | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
Starting pitchers: RHP Pablo López (1-0, 1.59) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (0-0, –)
Odds: HOU -140 | MIN +118 | O/U: 8
Game 2 preview
The Twins’ offense wasn’t particularly effective against left-handed pitchers this season. For 2023, their .727 OPS against lefties ranks just 19th in MLB. The return of Royce Lewis helps matters, but the lefty factor figures to again be, well, a factor against a tough port-sider like Valdez. Can they run up his pitch count and or do damage to the extent they get some cracks at the bullpen before the game gets late? That’s the big question for Game 2.
Prediction
López shoves, Lewis homers yet again, and the Twins even the score. Pick: Twins 4, Astros 3.
