After scare, Maldonado is ready to go

MINNEAPOLIS — After a scary incident left him lying motionless for a few moments following Friday’s walk-off loss to the Rangers, Astros catcher Martin Maldonado said he is fine and ready to play in Game 1 of the wild card series against the Twins.

Maldonado said he felt something “weird right behind my knee” when he turned to grab a throw from Jose Altuve. He lunged for a tag but was unsuccessful. His legs became tangled, and one of his spikes was caught in the dirt.

Maldonado remained lying face down during the Rangers’ celebration, causing the music in the stadium to stop and the entire Astros team to surround the catcher with concern. Maldonado walked off under his own power but did not play Saturday or Sunday.

Had either of those games held meaning for the Astros’ playoff seeding, Maldonado said, he could have played. He opted to rest, though, after starting 47 of the team’s 60 regular-season games.

“I don’t think I’ve played a lot,” Maldonado said. “Remember, it’s just 60 games. We used to play 162 games. So I would say my body feels great. Especially at the catcher position, you get more tired mentally than you get tired physically. Overall, I feel great.”

Maldonado coaxed a teamhigh 27 walks from the nine-hole and showed a penchant for clutch hits, even if his batting average is just .215 and his OPS .727.

Baker mum on starter for Game 2 vs. Twins

The Astros front office and coaching staff met late into Monday night to finalize their roster for the three-game wild card series against the Twins. Manager Dusty Baker had no revelations during a late-afternoon news conference Monday from Target Field, deflecting all questions until Tuesday morning.

Houston’s roster will contain 28 players, consistent with the norm during the 60-game season. Most of the spots are set in stone, but intrigue lies in how many pitchers the Astros will carry. The Astros have a 40player pool from which they can choose their 28 players. All made the trip to Minnesota.

Along with the roster, Baker said the club was still finalizing who will start Game 2 on Wendesday opposite Twins righty Jose Berrios. The decision is between righthander Jose Urquidy and lefty Framber Valdez, either of whom would have a full complement of rest.

Though Valdez has been the team’s most consistent starter all season, pitching coach Brent Strom called him the pitching staff’s most resilient arm and the one most adaptable to a bullpen role. Valdez vacillated between the bullpen and starting rotation throughout his first two major league seasons.

Urquidy would be on regular rest for Wednesday’s start. He’s made only five starts this season after battling COVID-19 and arriving late but has a 2.73 ERA in 292⁄ innings. Urquidy has proven

3 playoff experience, too. He threw five dominant innings during a win in Game 4 of the World Series at Nationals Park last year.

Lance McCullers Jr. is in line to start Game 3 if the series requires one.

James ready to pitch after injured list stint

Astros reliever Josh James is “all systems forward” and will be available for the team’s wild card series against the Twins, manager Dusty Baker said.

James was placed on the injured list Friday for undisclosed reasons. That he will be activated before the requisite 10 days suggests James was on the COVID-19 injured list — but that does not necessarily mean he tested positive. Players can be placed on the COVID-19 IL after exposure to a positive case if they exhibit symptoms consistent with the virus or if more testing is required. There is no minimum or maximum stay on the COVID-19 IL.

James threw a bullpen session at Target Field on Monday and, according to Baker, he looked “very good.”

Donaldson, Buxton status up in the air

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli hedged Monday on whether outfielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Josh Donaldson would be on Tuesday’s active roster but said both had productive workout days at Target Field.

Both left Minnesota’s game Friday night with injuries — Donaldson with a cramp in his right calf and Buxton after being hit in the batting helmet with a pitch. Donaldson earlier missed a month of the regular season with a strained right calf.

“We’re going to hold off on making any sort of calls and getting into specifics until (Tuesday),” Baldelli said during a video conference. “We’re going to go through the gamut with these guys. … We’re still going to be learning (about their condition) over the second half of the day and possibly (Tuesday).”

Buxton suffered from a headache Saturday after being hit in the helmet but took some swings in the batting cage Monday, “and all went relatively well,” the manager added.

Donaldson appeared in only 28 games this season with six home runs and 11 RBIs. Buxton played in 39 games with 13 homers and plays a key role in the outfield when available.

Plenty of connections among Astros, Twins

While the teams have not laid eyes on each other this season, there are any number of connections between the Twins and Astros rosters as they prepare for the American League wild card series beginning Tuesday in Minneapolis.

The most prominent points of intersection are Minnesota infielder Marwin Gonzalez, a member of Houston’s 2017 World Series champions, and starting pitchers Kenta Maeda, Minnesota’s Game 1 starter, and Rich Hill, who pitched for the Dodgers team that lost to Houston in 2017.

Twins pitcher Tyler Clippard was on the Astros roster late in the 2017 season but did not pitch in the playoffs, and Minnesota reliever Tyler Duffey pitched for Bellaire High School and Rice University before being drafted by the Twins in 2017.

For Houston, closer Ryan Pressly pitched five years for the Twins before coming to the Astros in a midseason 2018 trade, and pitcher Chase De Jong played for the Twins before being released last season.

Maeda, who appeared in four games during the 2017 series, downplayed the presence of hard feelings remaining from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

“I try not to let anything in the past affect anything that’s going on right now,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “I’m no longer with the Dodgers. I’m a Twin now. My main focus is to pitch well and contribute to our team win.”

Duffey, who recalled attending games at Minute Maid Park before his pro career began, said that while the Twins may get a morale boost from the support they’re likely to receive from other teams against the Astros, “I don’t have a personal vendetta against anybody.”

“We can’t worry about (the Astros scandal),” he said. “We can’t go out and drill guys in a postseason game. We have to play baseball and win games.”