HOUSTON – The Minnesota Twins are about much more than Carlos Correa, the former Astros star who had more than a few indelible postseason moments during his time in a Houston uniform. The Twins can play with anyone, are strong up and down the lineup and have one of the toughest shots in the game. The Astros know the challenge that awaits them in the American League Division Series.

Astros manager Dusty Baker watched the Twins’ sweep over the Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card Series, and said his club will be very busy against the AL Central champions. Three wins over the Twins in the next five games would send the Astros to their seventh straight AL Championship Series — a remarkable run of success that culminated with World Series titles in 2017 and ’22.

“Nobody gave them a chance to beat Toronto, I don’t think so,” Baker said Thursday. “They’ve got a good shot, they’ve got good defense, they’ve got a number of left-handed hitters, which is a problem. They’ve got a good manager. I mean, they’re a good team.”

Not that the Astros needed a reminder of that, considering the Twins took four of their six meetings with Houston in the regular season. However, the clubs haven’t met since May 31, and Minnesota has yet to face Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez or Cristian Javier — likely the Astros’ top three outfielders — this year.

“They haven’t really seen the real Astros,” Houston general manager Dana Brown said, before adding: “They look legit in the postseason — the starters and relievers have been really good, they’ve got some firepower, the young kid, Royce Lewis, is really good. Game 1 is a big game. I think you’ve got Game 1, and you’re in the driver’s seat.

The Astros are 18-5 all-time in the ALDS, including 6-1 in openers. All but two of those firsts were at home, with Houston winning the first in Kansas City in 2015 and beating the A’s in ’20 in a game played at Dodger Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Houston will try to regain that home advantage after going 39-42 — the first team with a losing record at home to win its division since the ’01 Braves. The Astros are 11-0 in ALDS games at Minute Maid Park since 2017.

“It’s time to redeem ourselves,” Astros outfielder Chase McCormick said. “We didn’t play well at the end of the day, but we always love playing here. It’s a good time to win some games here, gain some momentum, gain an advantage somewhere. … We definitely need to show up, because the Twins are going to come in here and play their asses off. We have to.” “To be focused and to be 100 percent prepared.”

With five days off since the end of the regular season, the Astros were able to get their pitching together. Verlander will start Game 1 on Saturday, and lefty Valdez will start on Sunday. Javier is the likely starter for Game 3, although that’s not official. Houston’s ability to limit damage against the Twins’ left-handed hitters — including Max Kepler, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner and Willie Castro — will be a major intrigue in the series, especially since Valdez may be the only southpaw on Houston’s roster.

Twins pitchers led the major leagues in strikeouts with 1,560, topped by Pablo Lopez with 234. He has faced the Astros just once in his career and is likely Minnesota’s starter in the second game after pitching in Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener. Sonny Gray, who started Wednesday’s Wild Card game, will likely start Game 3 against Houston, putting the onus on the Astros to win Game 1 and get the upper hand before Minnesota’s best pitchers get the ball. Houston hitters had the third-fewest hits in the major leagues.

“We’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to make sure that when we get shots to hit early, we need to be aggressive and put the ball in play and put a lot of pressure on their defense.” McCormick said.

Saturday’s game will be the Astros’ 93rd game since the start of the 2015 season (the Twins have played in eight games in that span). Houston will rely on that experience, Verlander’s arm and a rabid home crowd to begin its march toward a potential third World Series title in seven seasons.

“In the postseason, it’s about executing in all phases of the game,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “That team that executes the best always wins. Hopefully we will be ready to execute.”