HOUSTON – Shifting to the best-of-five American League Division Series, the Twins altered their 26-man postseason roster to make room for Game 1 starting pitcher Bailey Ober.
The Twins removed lefthanded reliever Kody Funderburk in their only roster change between rounds. Funderburk did not make an appearance in the wild-card round, but the move leaves Caleb Thielbar as the only lefty reliever in the Twins bullpen.
Funderburk, a rookie called up at the end of August, permitted one run and six hits in 12 innings (0.75 ERA) in the regular season with 19 strikeouts and five walks.
One reason why the Twins may feel comfortable with only one lefty in their bullpen is Houston’s top lefty batters crush lefty pitching. Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez posted an .892 OPS in 174 plate appearances against lefties and right fielder Kyle Tucker had a .934 OPS in 238 plate appearances. Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger were the only lefty hitters with a higher OPS against lefty pitching than Tucker.
Ober was informed he would take the mound in Game 1 before Friday’s pre-ALDS workout. It will be his first career playoff start.
The Twins announced Pablo López will start Sunday’s Game 2 and Sonny Gray will start Tuesday at Target Field for Game 3. Joe Ryan was told he needs to prepare himself for a potential Game 4 and López could start a potential Game 5 on regular rest.
Byron Buxton took swings in a live batting practice session Friday against Jorge Alcala, homering on his first swing to the left field Crawford Boxes, but he was left off the Twins’ roster for the second consecutive round. If Royce Lewis continues to operate as the DH, as expected, Buxton would have a diminished role even if he was fully healthy.
Teams can change their playoff roster between each round.
The Twins’ ALDS roster:
Catchers: Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vázquez
Infielders: Carlos Correa, Kyle Farmer, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Jorge Polanco, Donovan Solano.
Outfielders: Willi Castro, Max Kepler, Andrew Stevenson, Michael A. Taylor, Matt Wallner.
Pitchers: Jhoan Duran, Sonny Gray, Griffin Jax, Pablo López, Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagán, Joe Ryan, Brock Stewart, Caleb Thielbar, Louis Varland.