The Astros led 5-0 after six innings after a leadoff homer by Jose Altuve in the first inning, Alvarez's two-run bomb in the third, and a pair of RBIs in the fifth.
Verlander gave way to Hector Neris in the seventh inning when the Twins got on the board with four runs on back-to-back home run swings. Alvarez then got back a run in the bottom half of the seventh with a home run to the right field foul pole.
Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly came in relief in the final two and third innings to extinguish any fire of a Twins comeback.
Carlos Correa, in the losing effort, registered two hits, including a double that saw him slow into second base. The Twins shortstop had been dealing with plantar fasciitis heading into his return to Houston.
Houston has the chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2 on Sunday at 7 p.m. Framber Valdez will face Minnesota's pitching ace, Pablo Lopez.
Yes, Correa has come back to Houston since departing for the Minnesota Twins before the 2022 season, and while he's managed to register just two hits in six games as the visitor at Minute Maid Park, the former No. 1 overall draft pick's mission in his old stomping grounds matches that held by his former teammates: win, keep winning, earn a pennant and then a world title.
So, the stakes are high. For Houston, in particular, there's a shot at history. No Major League Baseball team has repeated as World Series champions in 23 years, and manager Dusty Baker and his club figure they could break that drought. After all, when Justin Verlander throws the first pitch at 3:45 p.m. inside Minute Maid Park, it will mark the Astros' seventh consecutive time playing in the postseason and the eighth time in the last nine years.
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For Minnesota, the Twins are bidding to break the stigma of playoff failure. They've already ended an 18-game playoff losing streak and a nine-series run of failing to advance in the postseason. In addition, manager Rocco Baldelli's bunch wants to prove their entry into the 2023 postseason wasn't be default - they earned a ticket by winning the AL Central Division, statistically the weakest in baseball this season. They are also seeking the fourth world championship in franchise history and their first in 32 years.
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Verlander took on on Bailey Ober in Saturday's ALDS opener.
Game 2's pitchers have already been revealed, with Houston's Framber Valdez going up against Minnesota's Pablo Lopez on Sunday.
The Twins' Sonny Gray, who pitched Minnesota into the ALDS, will start Game 3 in Minneapolis. Houston's starter for its road game has not yet been announced, though, it's likely Cristian Javier will get the nod.
Entering Saturday, FanGraphs gave Houston a 56.4% edge to Minnesota's 43.6% to win the series, but depending on how Game 1 unfolds, you can expect those odds to widen or narrow.
By the way, the Twins won the 2023 regular-season series against the Astros, 4-2, but those games were in early April and late May, the earlier matchups taking place when the Astros were without Jose Altuve and well before Verlander rejoined the team.
2023 ALDS schedule and results, Houston leads 1-0
- Game 1: Houston 6, Minnesota 4
- Game 2: Minnesota at Houston, Sunday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.
- Game 3: Houston at Minnesota, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 3 p.m.
- Game 4: Houston at Minnesota, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 1:07 p.m.*
- Game 5: Minnesota at Houston, Friday, Oct. 13, 3:07 p.m.*+
All times Central Time.
* - if necessary
+ - If only one ALDS Game 5 remains on Friday, Oct. 13, the game will be at 7:03 p.m.
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