Houston Astros (36-28, second in the AL West) vs. Minnesota Twins (26-38, fifth in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Sunday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (2-0, 1.47 ERA, .87 WHIP, 22 strikeouts) Twins: Michael Pineda (3-3, 3.46 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 50 strikeouts)
LINE: Twins +123, Astros -142; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Jose Berrios. Berrios threw seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts against Houston.
The Twins are 14-20 in home games in 2020. Minnesota has hit an MLB-leading 93 home runs this season. Miguel Sano leads the club with 13, averaging one every 13 at-bats.
The Astros have gone 16-15 away from home. Houston leads the American League in hitting with a .270 batting average, Yuli Gurriel leads the team with an average of .327.
The Twins won the last meeting 5-2. Jose Berrios earned his seventh victory and Jorge Polanco went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Minnesota. Luis Garcia registered his fourth loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Polanco leads the Twins with 23 extra base hits and is batting .251.
Kyle Tucker leads the Astros with 28 extra base hits and is batting .262.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 4-6, .266 batting average, 6.00 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
Astros: 6-4, .290 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
INJURIES: Twins: Caleb Thielbar: (groin), Devin Smeltzer: (elbow), Kenta Maeda: (groin), Edwar Colina: (right elbow), Shaun Anderson: (finger), Rob Refsnyder: (hamstring), Max Kepler: (hamstring), Kyle Garlick: (sports hernia), Jake Cave: (back), Byron Buxton: (hip), Luis Arraez: (shoulder), Mitch Garver: (groin).
Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Joe Smith: (undisclosed), Austin Pruitt: (elbow), Enoli Paredes: (shoulder), Lance McCullers Jr.: (shoulder), Josh James: (hip), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder), Bryan Abreu: (calf), Aledmys Diaz: (hand), Jason Castro: (achilles).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
