Minnesota Twins' Carlos Correa celebrates after a RBI-double against the Houston Astros during the first inning in Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game in Houston, on Oct. 8.Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press
Carlos Correa had three hits and three RBIs and Pablo Lopez pitched seven shutout innings, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Sunday night in Game 2 of their AL Division Series.
Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who bounced back nicely after losing 6-4 in the series opener on Saturday night.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series is at Minnesota on Tuesday.
Correa, an October star for so many years in Houston, has returned to the post-season with a vengeance after lamenting how much he missed the playoffs when Minnesota stumbled last year in his first season with the Twins.
Correa hit an RBI double in the first inning in Game 2. He added a two-run single to centre in the fifth, lifting the Twins to a 5-0 lead. He also robbed Jeremy Pena of a hit with a terrific defensive play for the final out.
Correa has eight hits and four RBIs in four games this post-season, helping the Twins to three playoff wins.
Lopez pitched a gem after leading the Twins to the victory in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. He yielded six hits and struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 0.71 this post-season.
He kept the Astros off balance with a fastball that averaged 95.9 MPH, slightly up from his season average.
Yordan Alvarez, who homered twice in Houston’s win in Game 1, cut the lead to 6-2 with a two-run shot in the eighth inning. But Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for Minnesota.
The Astros had to hold off a Twins rally in the series opener, but they played from behind throughout Game 2.
Willi Castro hit a leadoff single in the second for the Twins, and Farmer followed with a 377-foot drive to left-centre against Framber Valdez. The homer was Farmer’s first post-season hit after going 0 for 10 in eight career games.
Valdez departed after Correa’s clutch swing in the fifth. He was charged with five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Correa’s two-run single gave him 63 career RBIs in the playoffs, tying David Justice for third-most in MLB history. He celebrated by pounding his chest and shouting “Let’s go,” before pointing to his ecstatic dugout.
Correa received a smattering of boos from the home crowd each time he stepped to the plate. It was a stark change from the adoration he long received at Minute Maid Park in seven seasons with the Astros after being selected first overall in the 2012 amateur draft.
A day after hitting three home runs, the Astros had trouble stringing anything together against Lopez.
Their best chance to score against the right-hander came in the fourth. Kyle Tucker walked with one out and moved to second on a groundout by Jose Abreu. Michael Brantley lined a single to left field to send Tucker to third, but Lopez struck out Chas McCormick to end the threat.
Edouard Julien drove in a run with a single in the seventh inning to push the lead to 6-0.
The defending champion Astros entered Sunday’s game 12-0 at Minute Maid Park in the ALDS since 2017, and the loss is their first at home in the Division Series since Game 4 in 2015.
UNDER THE STARS
The retractable roof at Minute Maid was open Sunday night for just the second time all season. Houston manager Dusty Baker said the decision to open it was made by the league.
After a brutal summer, temperatures have dipped this week in Houston. It was 73 degrees at first pitch.
UP NEXT
Houston right-hander Cristian Javier (10-5, 4.56 ERA) opposes Minnesota right-hander Sonny Gray (8-8, 2.79 ERA) in Game 3 on Tuesday.