It's just like old times for Correa in Houston

Carlos Correa was back at Minute Maid Park, starring in the playoffs like he had so many times before.

Only this time he was wearing a different uniform.

Correa had three hits and three RBIS and Pablo López pitched seven shutout innings, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 6-2 late on Sunday night in Game 2 of their AL Division Series. The game ended after deadline.

Kyle Farmer hit a tworun 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-5 series is today at Minnesota.

Correa, an October star for so many years in Houston, is back in the playoffs after Minnesota stumbled last year in his first season with the Twins. And he is relishing his return to his favorite time of the year.

Correa hit an RBI double in the first inning in Game 2. He batted with the bases loaded in the fifth and singled to center, driving in two more runs and lifting the Twins to a 5-0 lead.

RANGERS HAVE ORIOLES ON BRINK OF ELIMINATION >> Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas Rangers never really planned on a two-week trip that would take them from one coast to the other, not after leaving home in control of the AL West.

That journey has finally brought the wild-card

Rangers home for their first playoff game at Globe Life Field. They have already won four games and one series this postseason, and their All-star pitcher will be on the mound tonight for another potential clincher in Game 3 of their AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

“The way they responded says a lot about them, their makeup. All year we’ve had to bounce back from some tough losses and injuries. And they just focused forward,” first-year Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “It seems like we’ve been on the road for a month.”

It was only half that time, but twice as long as the Rangers expected after winning their last home game Sept. 24, and leaving with a 2 ½-game division lead for a seven-game

West Coast trip that concluded with losses in three of their last four regularseason games in Seattle.

Instead of being the division champion and No. 2 seed that would have meant a bye into the ALDS with home-field advantage, Texas had to fly across the country for the best-of-3 Wild Card Series they swept in Tampa Bay. Then it traveled north to Baltimore to start the division series.

Dean Kremer will take the mound in Game 3 for top-seeded Baltimore, which won 101 games and was never swept in a series during the regular season. The Orioles won two of three at Texas during the first week of the season back in April.

Kremer, 27, is making his first postseason start.