5 October 2023
As a byproduct of sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series, the Twins had an extra day off to prepare for the Houston Astros, conducting a workout at Target Field on Thursday afternoon before heading down to Texas.
Game times for the American League Division Series were announced on Thursday and now the Twins know when they’ll next hit the field in game action: Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
The second game of the series, also at Minute Maid Park, will begin at 7:03 p.m., and will be the first scheduled night game for the Twins this postseason. Both games will be televised on FS1. The third game, which will be played at Target Field, is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. and will be aired on FOX.
The league has not announced game times for potential Games 4 or 5, the first of which would be held at Target Field and the latter of which would take place back in Houston if necessary.
Single-game tickets for ALDS Game 3 and 4 at Target Field will go on sale on Friday at 12 p.m. CT.
Additionally, while the team is on the road, the Twins are opening up Target Field for free watch parties, which fans can claim tickets for on the team’s official website. The ballpark will open an hour before first pitch and a handful of concession stands will be open, selling food and drinks.
Roster updates
The Twins have until Saturday morning to make their final determinations on their roster for the ALDS — they could opt to add an additional pitcher for a longer series — and like last time, they plan to continually assess Byron Buxton’s status to see if he could potentially be a factor.
Buxton, who is dealing a knee issue, said he probably could have played in the Wild Card Series, but not at the speed or level that he would have wanted to and he didn’t want to put the team in a bad spot by “coming back at 50, 60, 70 percent.”
President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were still going day to day with Buxton, who will travel with the team to Houston and continue to work out.
“He’ll continue to get some live ABs and things we can do on the field,” Falvey said. “That’ll be the plan, and we’ll assess that come Saturday, just like we did the last series.”
Further complicating things for a potential Buxton return is the fact that Royce Lewis is healthy enough to serve as the team’s designated hitter — the role Buxton filled all year — but does not yet seem ready to return to third base.
Lewis said he was going to do everything he possibly could to help out the team in whatever way possible. Some days, he said, the hamstring he strained in September feels great. Other days, not quite as great.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want to push it to where I can be out for the rest of the playoffs, let alone set back my offseason,” Lewis said. “I think we’re just trying to maintain what we have and play at whatever percent I am.”
Briefly
Three Twins players won World Series rings while with the Houston Astros — Carlos Correa (2017), Dallas Keuchel (2017) and Christian Vázquez (2022). … Twins relief pitchers Louie Varland and Kody Funderburk were named International League Post-Season All-Stars on Wednesday for their performance in Triple-A this season.
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