Twins' Sonny Gray doesn't fear the Astros as he attempts to lock down Game 3 of the ALDS

Sonny Gray wanted the ball, whether it was round or pointy.

He starred for Smyrna (Tenn.) High School on the mound. But, as a quarterback, he led the Bulldogs to consecutive 5A state titles in 2006 and 2007. When his high school football career was brought up on Monday, Gray sounded as if he was ready to tackle the questioner.

"I got a ton from playing football, not only in high school, but throughout my life," said Gray, who visited Vikings practice in August the week his beloved Titans were in town for joint practices. "I've said this a lot: Football might be my favorite sport. I love football. I loved playing football. There was nothing like that.

"The way that a team truly has to come together in football, especially playing quarterback. I mean, you're in charge of all 11 guys that are out there. You not only know what you have to do, but then you're knowing what the left guard, left tackle, all the receivers, the running backs, you kind of know what they have to do, and then you also know what the defense is doing."

The significance of this: There's more than one way to torch a defense. And there is more than one way to neutralize a hitter. There was a time when Gray was proficient at both. Right now, the Twins need him to tame the Astros lineup when the teams meet Tuesday at Target Field in a best-of-five ALDS which is tied 1-1.

If Gray wants to channel the passion he spoke with on Monday into production on the mound Tuesday, he's welcome to do so. He's pitched with an edge all season, his best in terms of home run prevention. He allowed just eight home runs in 184 innings, which is ridiculous. His sinking fastball is the truth, but Gray's command of an array of other pitches this season should earn him some down-ballot votes for the AL Cy Young Award.

Don't fixate on his 8-8 record. His 2.79 ERA was third best in baseball. And his 0.4 home runs per nine innings led everyone. He has limited mistakes, throwing pitches with conviction.

"Sonny knows how to pitch, and Sonny's not scared," Houston manager Dusty Baker said. "I've watched Sonny for a long time. I watched Sonny when he was a local. I watched Sonny when he was with Cincinnati, the Yankees. He's been around for a while. The guy knows how to pitch.

"Him and [injured Astros reliever Kendall] Graveman, I didn't know they were such close buddies. They're Southern boys, and Southern boys usually don't be too scared."

In the current format of the Division Series, if the teams are tied after two games, the club heading home for Games 3 and 4 has won the series 28 of 42 times (67 percent). Who better to leverage the moment than Gray?

And he might be coming along at the right time, because Houston's Yordan Alvarez is mashing. The lefthanded hitter belted two home runs in Game 1 to fuel the Astros' victory and hit a two-run homer in Game 2 to account for all of their runs.

One option could be to pitch around Alvarez. The Cardinals lost the 2013 World Series to Boston, partially because they continued to pitch to David Ortiz, who batted .688 in the six games.

That might not be an option for the fearless Gray. Alvarez is 1-for-6 against Gray in his career, and was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout when they met on April 7.

"I look forward to the matchup, to the challenge," Gray said. "I'll come up with a plan of how I'm going to attack him, and then after that, it's just let me go out there and be me. A big thing for me is me versus you. I'm going to challenge you. I'm going to come at you with my best stuff. If you get me, you get me. If I get you, I get you."

Given the season he's had, Gray has earned the right to set the game plan his way. If it doesn't work on Tuesday, maybe Gray will just tackle Alvarez.