In keeping with Houston’s somewhat less than robust status as a fan favorite, not to mention assorted geographic concerns, the Astros and Twins will be playing a pair of day games Tuesday and Wednesday at Target Field in the American League wild card series.
Game 1 begins at 1 p.m. Tuesday and will air on ABC network affiliates, including KTRK (Channel 13) in Houston, as the first of four AL games. Game 2 will start at noon Wednesday on ESPN2, and the time for Game 3 on Thursday will be set later should it become necessary.
The Twins and Astros have not met this season, owing to Major League Baseball limiting teams to their respective league and interleague divisional opponents, and there has been no in-person scouting allowed this year.
The closest the Astros have to an eyes-on report on the Twins, accordingly, comes from pitcher Chase De Jong, who was with Minnesota in September 2018 and for one game in April 2019 before being sent down and ultimately released.
“I can just speak to the camaraderie they have. It’s a very tight-knit group,” De Jong said Sunday. “On the pitching side, (pitching coach) Wes Johnson has come in and done a really good job there.”
Johnson made the unusual jump to the majors from college coaching at Central Arkansas, Dallas Baptist, Mississippi State and Arkansas, “and the energy he brought was great if you’re willing to learn and open to some of the small things he does. It benefited a lot of guys.”
De Jong, who came to Houston in August after pitching independent league ball in Sugar Land, said he has been impressed by the cohesive nature of the Astros clubhouse.
“As soon as you put on a jersey that says ‘Astros,’ you’re one of the boys,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys who have performed well in a year when they needed them to step up. The big-name guys have treated everybody, me and the young guys, phenomenally well, and I can’t say that for everywhere I’ve been.
“This team knows how to win, and they know that having cliques doesn’t work well. The clubhouse atmosphere is something that I haven’t seen before, and I’m excited to see how far we go in the postseason.”
Manager Dusty Baker hasn’t seen the Twins or set foot in Target Field but said, “I know they can hit, and the ballpark is a hitting ballpark. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
The Astros will leave Dallas-Fort Worth at about noon Monday and head to the ballpark for a 4:30 p.m. optional workout.
They arrive on something of a down note, having wrapped up the year with three straight losses to the Rangers after a 10-4 win Thursday that players hoped would represent a turnround from their recent hitting malaise. Instead, they were outscored 19-9 in their final three games.
Baker hopes the experience of four consecutive playoff runs will click in beginning Tuesday.
“The guys have been there. They know not to panic,” he said. “Our defense has been our constant. In the postseason, you’ve got to play good defense and get some good pitching and above all else some timely hitting.
“He who gets the most two-out hits is the one that wins. We are due a whole boatload of them, because we haven’t gotten them lately.”
The Astros do take some measure of encouragement from José Altuve, who showed some patience at the plate on occasion against the Rangers and had two homers in the four-game series. Michael Brantley on Tuesday had his first home run since Sept. 8 and pulled his average up to .300 with a base hit Sunday.
Alex Bregman had homers Thursday and Friday, and Carlos Correa had a 409-foot homer Sunday. Aledmys Díaz, who had a homer Sunday, has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games, and George Springer was 4-for-11 against the Rangers after an 0-for-3 Sunday.
Points of concern, however, include catcher Martín Maldonado, who sat out two games after tweaking his knee Friday on a play at the plate, and first baseman Yuli Gurriel, who was 3-for-26 on the Astros’ season-ending road trip.
“Regular-season games and playoff games bring out different things,” Correa said. “The intensity is different. We’re going to step up and play great baseball, and we’ll be fine.”
The Link LonkSeptember 28, 2020 at 10:01AM
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/astros/article/Astros-insider-Playoffs-present-a-fresh-start-15601919.php
Astros insider: Playoffs present a fresh start - Houston Chronicle
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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