The Houston Astros were one of the best road teams in the MLB all regular season. They'll put that to the test on Tuesday when facing the Minnesota Twins for two important games in the ALDS.
The Houston Astros have found themselves close to being backed up against a wall heading into their road stretch against the Minnesota Twins.
After taking Game 1 at home, they were dominated in Game 2 on their way to losing home field advantage in the ALDS.
Now, the Astros will need to win one in Minnesota to extend the series.
Road success is something that this Houston team is familiar with.
They had the third best record away from home, finishing the regular season 51-30 in opposing ballparks, only trailing the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves who were 52-29.
By almost every hitting metric, the Astros are a top-3 team when on the road.
They have the second-highest OPS (.797), second most hits (773), second most home runs (130), and third most RBI (450) and runs (462).
Manager Dusty Baker knows the type of performances Houston has had when away from home this season.
"We know we're a good road team. We'd like to bring it back to the house here or win it there. So that's our goal, and their goal is to win it there. So we'll see come Tuesday," he told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
They'll be putting that to the test in a raucous environment that overwhelmed the Toronto Blue Jays during the AL Wild Card round.
Outfielder Chas McCormick knows the challenge at hand.
"It’s going to be a big crowd, it’s going to be loud ... Obviously, it's the playoffs. It’s going to be back and forth. We just have to go to Minnesota and be ready to play and be ready to hit and put up runs," he said.
The Astros have faced challenges in the past and have risen to the occasion.
"We’ve been in this situation before, and all we’ve got to do is control one game at a time," veteran catcher Martin Maldonado said about the situation.
They'll need to continue their road form or else they could be facing a shocking early exit in the ALDS round.