López more than ready for high-pressure Game 2 start

HOUSTON -- Pablo López spent the entirety of Game 1 of the American League Division Series in the dugout, watching the Astros closely.

The Twins' right-hander, scheduled to start against Houston in Game 2 on Sunday night, looked on as both Bailey Ober and Kenta Maeda were roughed up in Minnesota’s 6-4 loss on Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

“Watching the game today -- I'm going to be paying a lot of attention,” López said pregame Saturday. “I have an idea what the paper says about each guy, and now it's going to be about how Bailey goes about it and see how they react, see how they try to make adjustments pitch to pitch, at-bat after at-bat. If you put them away with something, will they go to the plate looking for that pitch in the next at-bat?

“I'll be really looking to soak it all in and gather as much information as I can when I'm not pitching.”

López will need every edge he can get. Houston’s postseason-tested lineup launched three home runs in Game 1, including two Yordan Alvarez shots. Ober (three runs allowed in three innings) and Maeda (two runs allowed in two innings) struggled in particular against the Astros’ left-handed hitters, including Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.

With manager Rocco Baldelli electing to use both of those starters and three other relievers in Game 1, a lengthy start from López would go a long way. López will also go opposite Astros All-Star ace Framber Valdez. An 0-2 hole in the series would require Minnesota to win three straight games to take the series.

In other words, Sunday is practically a must-win start, and López is the man the Twins are hoping can deliver the “W.”

“In postseason baseball, you're going to have to win a lot of low-scoring games,” Baldelli said. “We're throwing out there and facing some of the best pitchers in the game on a game-by-game basis on a daily basis. You're probably going to think you're going to have to win low-scoring affairs in order to do it.”

But López is used to pressure. In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, he tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball to give the franchise its first playoff win in 6,937 days.

The right-hander twirled one of the best seasons as a starting pitcher in Twins history, with a 3.66 ERA in 194 innings, the most by a Twins pitcher since José Berríos in 2019. He had 234 strikeouts, most by a Twin since 2007, with only 48 walks.

As López said before the postseason, “Pressure is a privilege.”

“Every time you get the ball handed to you, you know as a player you have the opportunity to make something cool happen,” López said after his last start of the regular season on Sept. 27. “Pressure is a privilege. That means a lot of good things can be expected from you and it’s all about embracing the opportunity, embracing the challenge and then at the same time, not trying to do too much.”