Minnesota Twins Make Surprising Move Ahead of Game 1 of ALDS

That's a surprising decision by manager Rocco Baldelli given that Ober was sent to the minor leagues this season for a five-game stretch.

He did make 26 starts at the major league level this year, going 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA. He struck out 146 batters in 144.1 innings and will be tasked with handling the Houston Astros, one of the best lineups in baseball.

Lifetime, Ober is 13-12 with a 3.63 ERA. He's thrown 292.2 innings at the big league level.

Ryan, who was passed over, has better "stuff" than Ober but had mixed results this season. The 27-year-old started 29 games, going 11-10 with a 4.51 ERA. He struck out 197 batters in 161.2 innings. He's won double-digit games in each of the last two seasons.

There's a chance that Ryan could start Game 2 of the series on Sunday, but the team could perhaps go back to Pablo Lopez, who last started on Tuesday in the opener of the Wild Card Round.

Game 1 of the series will be played on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. ET. Ober will be opposed by Justin Verlander, who returned to the Astros in a trade deadline deal from the New York Mets.

He helped the Astros win the World Series a year ago.