Defending champion Astros and Twins were on a collision course

HOUSTON – No team features more postseason experience than the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, a team that has advanced to the American League Championship Series in six consecutive seasons.

That's the primary challenge for the Twins, entering Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Saturday. Justin Verlander, Houston's Game 1 starting pitcher, will make his 35th postseason start. No active players have played in more playoff games than Alex Bregman or Jose Altuve.

"I never use that [term] 'defending champions,' " Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "To me, we're going to be the champs of 2023. We know we're defending. The whole world knows we're defending, but we don't really think about it that much."

In the last week of the regular season, the Twins and Astros expected to see each other in the wild-card round. Twins catcher Christian Vázquez, who won a championship with the Astros last year, texted Yordan Alvarez after Houston clinched a division title: "I'll see you soon."

The two teams were lined up to face each other until the Astros won their last four games to secure an American League West Division title.

What is their scouting report on the Twins?

"Everybody knows they can pitch," Baker said, "but we can pitch, too. It's going to be a good series. I mean, it boils down to pitching."

The Astros, who finished with a 90-72 record, went 39-42 in home games. As much as that could be a good omen for the Twins, Houston owns a 7-0 record in Game 1s of the ALDS.

Byron Buxton was among a small group of hitters who took swings against Jorge Alcala in a live batting practice session Friday. He homered on his first swing into the left field Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park.

It was the first time Buxton faced live pitching since the start of the postseason. Buxton, who hasn't played in an MLB game since Aug. 1, is probably a long shot to be added to the roster Saturday for the ALDS.

"Whatever's best for the team and pushing us forward, that's what we're doing," Buxton said.

The Twins saw their TV ratings on Bally Sports North jump 34% during the 2023 season, tied for the fifth-largest jump among the 29 U.S.-based teams, according to Sports Business Journal.

The Twins' 12-year TV contract with Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports North, expires at the end of this season. The Twins received $54.8 million from their deal with Diamond this year.

• The Fox Sports TV broadcasters for the Twins-Astros series are ex-Twin A.J. Pierzynski, retiring Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, Adam Amin and Tom Verducci.

• Royce Lewis marveled at Verlander's longevity before Saturday's game: "He's 40 years old. I was looking at my dad, 'You know, when you were 40, you couldn't throw. You couldn't play catch with me.' " Lewis said, laughing. "We're still working on him playing catch with me."

• Baldelli expects relievers Kenta Maeda and Chris Paddack to have larger roles after they didn't pitch in the wild-card round. "The wild-card series, they're short, and you can use your high-leverage guys basically every game or pretty close to it," he said. "The guys that give you two, three and even more innings, it's harder to find the right spots for them."

• Bill Miller will serve as the crew chief for the six-umpire crew. Brian Knight will be behind the plate for Game 1 and D.J. Reyburn for Game 2.