Though the Minnesota Twins created some memorable moments for their fans this October, their postseason run came to an end at the hands of the Houston Astros in the ALDS. The Astros clinched their seventh consecutive trip to the ALCS with a 3-2 win in Minnesota on Wednesday, ending the best-of-five series in four games.

The Twins were the obvious underdogs in this series but hung around in three of the four games and even snatched a victory from the Astros in Houston in Game 2. When all was said and done though, the Astros were just too much for the Twins to handle and a 9-1 blowout loss in Game 3 showed the major differences between the two teams.

Minnesota grabbed its first playoff series victory in over 20 years with their wild card triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, but Twins fans are left with some “what could've been” had the team been able to win a game at home against the Astros. The Twins lost this series as a team, but some players who were expected to contribute in big ways for Minnesota were nowhere to be found.

2. Royce Lewis

Lewis will forever live in Twins lore after his two-home run game in Game 1 of the wild card series, Minnesota's first playoff victory since 2004. His first-inning blast sent Target Field into a frenzy and he followed it with another bomb in his next plate appearance. Unfortunately for Lewis and the Twins, that was the only major impact that he had during the MLB playoffs.

Lewis launched two more homers against the Astros but both of them came in losses. Outside of that, the rookie mustered just one more hit in the ALDS, going 3-for-16 at the plate. He led all batters in the series with seven strikeouts through the four games, failing to put the ball in play in nearly half of his at-bats.

It's tough to blame a rookie for a team's offensive woes, and Lewis certainly isn’t the only Twin who struggled hitting-wise in the series, but his spot in the heart of Minnesota's lineup comes with certain expectations. Lewis hit third or fourth in every game of the series but the only runs he drove in were on his two solo homers.

Royce Lewis is a fantastic baseball player and the Twins finally got to see what he's made of this year after a number of injury-riddled seasons. Despite his lack of success this postseason, the former No. 1 overall pick did show he belongs in the bigs and should be a big piece for the Twins moving forward.

1. Sonny Gray

A significant reason why the Twins won the AL Central and then subsequently swept the Blue Jays was their starting pitching. Led by Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray, Minnesota's starting pitching had the second-best ERA in the league during the regular season.

Gray had arguably the best season of his 11-year career, posting a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts which earned him a third All-Star selection. He followed his stellar regular season with a solid outing in Game 2 of the wild card series, blanking the Blue Jays through five shutout innings while striking out six batters. Gray's career ERA in the postseason improved to 2.39 in five starts after that performance.

More of the same was expected from Gray as he took the mound for Game 3 against the Astros in front of the Twins' home crowd. He posted a 2.67 ERA in 17 home starts this season, but Houston threw all of that aside and jumped on him immediately, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning to take a stranglehold on the game.

Gray settled in and did not allow a run across the next three innings, but a leadoff homer by Alex Bregman in the fifth inning was followed by a double and walk, ending Gray's start before he could record an out in the inning.

It was perhaps Sonny Gray's worst start of the season and it came at the worst time for the Twins after they grabbed some momentum with a Game 2 win. This performance shouldn’t take away from Gray's fantastic 2023 season, but it'll probably leave a bad taste in his mouth as he enters free agency this offseason.