López's ace stuff confounds Astros: 'The guy was dealing'

HOUSTON -- In his clutch American League Wild Card Series win, Pablo López channeled his childhood idol, Johan Santana, helping deliver the first Twins playoff victory in 19 years.

In Game 2 of the AL Division Series, López began to build his own postseason legacy.

The Venezuelan ace shoved against the Astros on Sunday night, tossing seven scoreless innings to deliver a much-needed 6-2 win and even the series before the Twins headed home from Minute Maid Park.

It was the third playoff start of seven or more scoreless innings in Twins history and the first since Santana in Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS.

“These are moments that sometimes as players we don't understand that we have to cherish them, because sometimes they're short,” López said. “Sometimes, they don't come again.”

Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli was open about just how much the Twins needed López to come up big in Game 2. The right-hander did just that and more in a start he called the biggest of his career.

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As López watched Minnesota’s Game 1 loss from the dugout, he took mental notes on each Houston hitter, trying to gather as much information as he could when he wasn’t pitching.

After all, López grew up the son of two doctors, in “a house full of anatomy books.” He graduated high school at 16 by skipping grades and was accepted to his parents’ medical school.

The mental preparation paid off on Sunday. López mixed and matched his five pitches to keep the Astros off-balance and stifle a potent lineup. He threw six changeups and four sweepers to just one fastball in the first inning. Then, López proceeded to overwhelm Houston with his four-seamer and sinker, which averaged 95.8 mph, tying a career high he set against Toronto in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.

Here’s a breakdown of three at-bats that helped define a start López ranked as No. 1 of his career:

Adjusting one strikeout at a time

Before Game 1, López emphasized trying to decipher the adjustments of the Houston hitters. Yordan Alvarez made an important adjustment: after whiffing on a Bailey Ober changeup, he smashed one into the left-field seats in his second at-bat.

So when Alvarez came up to bat in the sixth in Game 2, having already struck out earlier in the fourth on a high four-seam fastball, López knew he had to adjust after Alvarez laid off two high four-seamers.

“I was trying to watch every single pitch live and went back and rewatched it on the iPads,” López said. “It was about really understanding what kind of adjustment batters do.

“As pitchers, we want to make adjustments pitch to pitch. Well, batters want to do the same thing. So, like, when you expand to a part of the zone, like, what is the batter trying to do on the very next pitch?”

López threw a filthy changeup down and away, leaving Alvarez swinging at air, and neutralized the Astros’ most dangerous hitter with two strikeouts in three at-bats. Alvarez could only nod his head in respect to López as he walked back to the dugout.

Sometimes, it’s just the stuff

In the fourth, with runners on first and third with two outs, López went to the well and blew away Chas McCormick with three fastballs (two sinkers, one four-seamer) at 95+ mph for a huge strikeout.

López threw a career-high 47 pitches that clocked in at 95 or more mph, six more than his previous high.

“Personally, myself, I was swinging at stupid stuff,” McCormick said. “That's why he’s such a good pitcher. His ball is kind of moving everywhere.”

“[Catcher] Ryan Jeffers and I came out before the game knowing [the fastball] was going to play a huge role, a huge part, on today's plan,” López said. “Everything works off the fastball. The fastball is what makes all the other pitches a little more deceptive.”

Getting ahead on the first pitch

Houston manager Dusty Baker said it felt like the Astros were behind, 0-2, when they got in the box against López. He threw 22 first-pitch strikes in 27 plate appearances, and none were more important than López’s sixth-inning sinker to Jose Altuve.

The second baseman, who drilled the first pitch from Ober for a home run in Game 1 on Saturday, had already notched two singles in his first two at-bats against López. But the right-hander managed to place his sinker in the one spot in the strike zone that Altuve has the fewest hits in: down and in, and Altuve popped up the first pitch to strand Jeremy Peña after a leadoff double.

The first-pitch efficiency also allowed López (105 pitches) to get deep into the game. And his spectacular start left the Astros, who could face López in a potential Game 5, at a loss for words.

“There’s nothing you can say,” Baker said. “The guy was dealing tonight.”