Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all games for the series were held behind closed doors at a neutral site at Petco Park in San Diego.

On September 25, by virtue of a Dodgers win over the Angels, the Astros clinched a playoff berth, making it their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, as well as their fifth in six years.

The Astros finished the regular season at 29–31 (.483), becoming the second American League team to reach the playoffs with a losing record, the first being the 1981 Kansas City Royals.

The Astros' win in Game 2 handed the Twins their 18th consecutive postseason loss, a drought dating back to 2004, and the longest such streak in all of North America's major professional sports.

As part of the terms set for the postseason, all games of the series were played at Petco Park in San Diego, California, a neutral site.

The Tampa Bay Rays held off the Houston Astros, 2–1, in a nail-biter to take Game 1 of the 2020 American League Championship Series on Sunday night in San Diego.

In the bottom of the third inning, Tyler Glasnow walked Martin Maldonado and Michael Brantley before giving up an RBI double to Jose Altuve, making the score 2–0.

Tampa Bay answered back in the top of the fourth with a single from Austin Meadows, followed by a home run from Randy Arozarena, his fifth of the postseason.

On the night the Astros staved off elimination, George Springer, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel broke the record for most postseason games played together by any five teammates in baseball history.

Brandon Lowe tied the game in the 3rd, but the Astros reclaimed the lead in the bottom frame when Michael Brantley hit a single to right field to score two runs.

The Astros became just the fourth team in MLB history to force a Game 6 after trailing a best-of-seven series 3–0 (after the 1998 Braves, 1999 Mets and 2004 Red Sox).

Rays ace Blake Snell entered hoping to preserve a 1–0 lead, but he was lifted after allowing a walk and a single to begin the inning.

Snell was visibly unhappy with manager Kevin Cash's decision to remove him from the game in favor of reliever Diego Castillo.

Only three players ever have hit more homers in a single postseason: Barry Bonds (2002 Giants), Carlos Beltran (2004 Astros), and Nelson Cruz (2011 Rangers).