HOUSTON — Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and the Houston Astros held on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in their AL Division Series opener Saturday.
Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and Alvarez had three RBIs as the defending World Series champions earned their 10th straight victory in Game 1 of a Division Series.
Former Astros star Carlos Correa had two hits for the Twins, who continued to struggle at the plate with runners in scoring position. They were 1 for 12 after going 1 for 10 in the Wild Card Series against Toronto.
Verlander settled in after a shaky start and the Astros built a 5-0 lead through six innings with big swings from Altuve and Alvarez.
Héctor Neris took over for Verlander to start the seventh. With two outs, Jorge Polanco hit a soaring three-run homer to right field. Two pitches later, rookie Royce Lewis launched his third homer in three playoff games to make it 5-4.
In the bottom half, Caleb Thielbar entered to face Alvarez with one out. The slugger became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Thielbar this season when he smacked an off-speed pitch off the foul pole in right to give Houston an insurance run.
Bryan Abreu got four outs for the Astros, striking out three, and Ryan Pressly fanned two in a scoreless ninth for the save. He struck out Lewis to end it.
The best-of-five series continues Sunday night in Houston, with Framber Valdez on the mound for the AL West champion Astros against Pablo López.
Altuve pounced on Bailey Ober’s first pitch for his first career leadoff homer in the playoffs. Alvarez connected off Ober on a two-run shot in the third to make it 3-0.
The 40-year-old Verlander allowed four hits and walked three to get his 17th win in 35 postseason starts. The three-time Cy Young Award winner returned to the Astros this summer in a trade with the New York Mets.
Altuve, who was 0 for 23 to open the playoffs last season, has 24 career postseason homers, which ranks second in major league history to Manny Ramirez (29). Saturday was Altuve's eighth home run in the first inning of a playoff game, the most in MLB history.
Ober allowed four hits and three runs over three innings in his playoff debut for the AL Central champion Twins, who completed a two-game sweep of Toronto in the wild-card round to win a playoff series for the first time in 21 years.
The Twins had chances early but were unable to push any runs across against Verlander.
Minnesota had runners on first and second with no outs in the first. Lewis grounded into a double play before Verlander walked Max Kepler. Alex Kirilloff grounded out to end the threat.
Correa singled to start the second before a one-out single by Ryan Jeffers. This time Verlander escaped the jam when Michael A. Taylor grounded into a double play.
Edouard Julien doubled with no outs in the third, but the Twins didn’t get another hit until a single by Jeffers with no outs in the seventh.
There was one out in the third when Ober plunked Alex Bregman. Two pitches later, Alvarez knocked a changeup 379 feet into the seats in right field to make it 3-0.
It was the seventh career postseason homer for the 26-year-old. He watched the ball sail for a couple of seconds before trotting to first base as he casually flipped his bat.
José Abreu’s RBI single made it 4-0 in the fifth. Chas McCormick singled with two outs to send another run home, but Abreu was out at third on the play to end the inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Manager Rocco Baldelli said Lewis wasn’t quite ready to play the field as the DH continues to recover from a hamstring injury. “He’s in a good spot to help us win games right now, but he’s just not in a place where I feel comfortable yet, the medical staff feels comfortable yet, just sticking him at third base,” Baldelli said. He added that Lewis could return to the field at some point during this series.
Astros: Relief pitcher Kendall Graveman was left off the ALDS roster because of discomfort in his right shoulder. He said he’s feeling better and hopes to be available if the Astros advance.
UP NEXT
López (11-8, 3.66 ERA) won Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, allowing five hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings.
Valdez (12-11, 3.45), who threw a no-hitter against Cleveland in August, was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in his last five regular-season starts.
Game updates and highlights
First inning
Houston 0, Minnesota 0
Justin Verlander issued a walk and a single to start the game before getting Royce Lewis to ground into a double play for the first two outs of the game. He then walked Max Kepler before getting Alex Kirilloff to ground out to end the frame.
Houston 1, Minnesota 0
Jose Altuve led off the game with a first-pitch homer against Bailey Ober, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead.
Kyle Tucker had a double later in the inning but was stranded on second base when Jose Abreu popped out for the third out.
Second inning
Houston 1, Minnesota 0
Carlos Correa led off the second inning with a single up the middle. Verlander then got Matt Wallner to line out for the first out of the frame. Ryan Jeffers singled to left but Verlander got Michael A. Taylor to roll into a double play to end the inning.
Houston 1, Minnesota 0
Michael Brantley grounded out for the first out of the inning and then Chas McCormick flew out to right field. Jeremy Peña singled up the middle but Martín Maldonado flew out to left to end the inning.
Third inning
Houston 1, Minnesota 0
Edouard Julien opened the top of the third inning with a double to the left-center gap. Jorge Polanco went down swinging for the first out of the frame, Verlander's first strikeout of the game. Lewis hit a ground ball to Bregman, who was able to tag out Julien for the second out of the inning. Kepler went down swinging to end the inning.
Houston 3, Minnesota 0
Altuve flew out to open the inning before Ober hit Bregman in the back. Yordan Alvarez followed with a two-run homer to increase Houston's lead.
Tucker struck out and Abreu grounded out to end the inning.
Fourth inning
Houston 3, Minnesota 0
Kirilloff popped out for the first out of the inning. Correa hit a soft lineout for the second out and Wallner struck out swinging to end the frame.
Houston 3, Minnesota 0
Brantley led off the home half of the fourth inning with a single against Kenta Maeda, who replaced Ober. McCormick then hit into a fielder's choice, moving Brantley into scoring position. Peña went down swinging and Maldonado worked a walk to bring Altuve up to the plate for his third plate appearance. A wild pitch during Altuve's at-bat moved Brantley and Maldonado to second and third. A groundout ended the inning.
Fifth inning
Houston 3, Minnesota 0
Jeffers flew out on the first pitch for the first out in the fifth before Taylor got hit by a pitch, becoming the Twins' first baserunner since the third inning. Julien and Polanco struck out to end the inning.
Houston 5, Minnesota 0
Bregman singled to left to start the home half of the inning and Alvarez followed with a walk. Tucker lined out to third for the first out of the inning and then Abreu dropped an RBI single to left to add another run to the Astros' lead. Brantley went down looking and McCormick singled in Alvarez but Abreu was caught in a rundown for the final out of the inning.
Sixth inning
Houston 5, Minnesota 0
Lewis flew out for the first inning and Kepler grounded out for the second. Kirilloff worked a walk before Correa went down looking to end the inning. It was Verlander's sixth strikeout of the game.
Houston 5, Minnesota 0
Chris Paddack replaced Maeda in the bottom of the sixth inning. Peña flew out to center for the first out of the home half of the sixth. Maldonado followed with a swinging strikeout and Altuve flew out to right to retire the side.
Seventh inning
Houston 5, Minnesota 4
Hector Neris replaced Verlander to start the seventh inning and promptly hit Wallner with his second pitch. Jeffers followed with a bloop single. Willi Castro pinch-hit for Taylor and struck out looking for the first out of the inning. Julien then went down swinging for the second out before Polanco connected on a three-run homer to make it 5-3. Lewis followed with a solo homer to cut Houston's lead to one run. Bryan Abreu replaced Neris and gave up a check-swing double to Kepler. Kirilloff struck out swinging to end the inning.
Houston 6, Minnesota 4
Bregman led off the home half of the seventh with a swinging strikeout. Caleb Thielbar replaced Paddack to face Alvarez, who hit his second homer of the game to pad the Astros' lead. Jose Abreu followed with a walk and got thrown out trying to advance to second base on a wild pitch.
Eighth inning
Houston 6, Minnesota 4
Correa led off the top of the eighth inning against Bryan Abreu and doubled down the left-field line. Wallner followed with a swinging strikeout before Jeffers went down swinging for the second out of the frame. Castro lined out to end the inning.
Houston 6, Minnesota 4
Emilio Pagan replaced Thielbar in the bottom half of the inning. Brantley worked a walk to start the frame and stole second base during McCormick's at-bat. McCormick then lined out to second for the first out of the inning. Peña popped out for the second out of the inning and Maldonado flew out to right to end the inning.
Ninth inning
Houston 6, Minnesota 4
Ryan Pressly replaced Bryan Abreu in the ninth inning and got Julien to ground out for the first out. Polanco then went down swinging, bringing Lewis to the plate with two outs in the inning. Lewis went down swinging to end the game.
Schedule
- Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7 at Minute Maid Park. Start time is 3:45 p.m. CT
- Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 8 at Minute Maid Park. Start time is 7:03 p.m. CT
- Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 10 at Target Field in Minnesota. Start time is 3:07 p.m. CT
If more games are needed:
- Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Target Field in Minnesota. Start time is TBD.
- Game 5 is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13 at Minute Maid Park. Start time is TBD.
This article will be updated throughout the game and will contain highlights and game updates.