Streak gets a late push
Twins’ playoff skid hits 17 after Astros score 3 in 9th
MINNEAPOLIS — Tarnished by scandal at the start of the year and below average during this pandemicabbreviated season, the Astros showed up for the playoffs with their usual confidence and poise.
Just like that, they’ve got the edge on the AL Central champion Twins in an elimination game.
Jose Altuve drew a walk to force in the go-ahead run in the ninth Tuesday after a two-out error by shortstop Jorge Polanco, and the Astros beat the Twins 4-1 to open their AL playoff series and stretch the Twins’ all-time postseason record to 17 straight losses.
“These guys know how to battle. They know what it’s like,” said manager Dusty Baker, after the Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. “They know how to win, and they take pride in what they do.”
Game 2 in the best-of-three series is Wednesday at Target Field.
Michael Brantley tacked on a two-run single against Caleb Thielbar in the ninth after Sergio Romo issued the full-count walk to the 5-foot-6
Altuve, who batted 127 points lower (.219) this year than his 2017 AL MVP season.
“He laid off a close pitch. It didn’t go my way,” Romo said. “Tough pill to swallow.”
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called for Romo, the fifth of six pitchers, to start the ninth. The Astros started with two singles, but Romo was about to escape with the tie preserved until Polanco’s throw to second after a grounder was low to blow the forceout.
“I’m the one to wear any of that. I do feel that I put my teammates in a
position they shouldn’t have been in,” said Romo, lamenting the five shutout innings by starter Kenta Maeda that were spoiled.
The Twins and Astros tied for the fewest errors in the majors with 20 during the 60-game season. The Astros were only 18th in walks, but this one counted the most.
“It’s the same thing as a base hit,” Altuve said.
The Twins surpassed the record for consecutive postseason losses in major North American sports. They were tied with the NHL’s Blackhawks, who dropped 16 straight from 1975-79.