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Correa stars against former team as Twins beat Astros 6-2 to tie ALDS

Oct 8, 2023 | 9:39 PM

HOUSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa had three hits and three RBIs and Pablo López pitched seven shutout innings, helping the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Sunday night in Game 2 of their American League Division Series.

Kyle Farmer hit a two-run 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-five series is at Minnesota on Tuesday. 

Correa, an October star for so many years in Houston, has returned to the post-season with a vengeance after lamenting how much he missed the playoffs when Minnesota stumbled last year in his first season with the Twins.

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

Correa has eight hits and four RBIs in four games this post-season, helping the Twins to three playoff wins.

López pitched a gem after leading the Twins to the victory in Game 1 of the wild-card series. He yielded six hits and struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 0.71 this post-season.

He kept the Astros off balance with a fastball that averaged 95.9 MPH, slightly up from his season average.

Yordan Alvarez, who homered twice in Houston’s win in Game 1, cut the lead to 6-2 with a two-run shot in the eighth inning. But Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for Minnesota.

Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press