Astros Can Stay Hot With Another Win Over Twins

The Houston Astros are 9-4 in their last 13 games against the Minnesota Twins including a win in their series opener against Minnesota on Friday. The Astros will look to keep things rolling when the two teams continue their three-game series this Saturday night in Minnesota.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Twins opened as small betting favorites in this matchup at -107, but bets on Houston flipped the line as the Astros are now going off at -115 while the Twins are +105 home underdogs. The total has moved down to nine runs since Sportsbook at 10 runs. The UNDER is 4-1 in Minnesota’s last five home games against the Astros.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Luis Garcia has been rock-solid in the starting rotation all season long for the Astros with a 2.75 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 68 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched. Garcia has pitched at least five innings and allowed two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts, leading the Astros to a 5-0 record over that stretch.

Jose Berrios has been one of the few bright spots on Minnesota’s struggling pitching staff this season. Berrios enters this start with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP across 12 starts in 2020. He is 6-2 on the season and the Twins are 5-0 over his last five starts.

Houston News & Notes

Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel both hit home runs in Houston’s 6-4 win over the Twins on Friday night. The Astros are hitting well up and down the lineup this season with the best team batting average in the majors at .272 and the highest run production in the majors with 5.43 runs per game. Gurriel has the team’s highest batting average at .333 and also leads the Astros with 46 RBI.

Houston is 9-3 over its last 12 games with two series wins over the Boston Red Sox and one series win against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros could pick up their fourth straight series victory with a win on Saturday or Sunday against the Twins.

Minnesota News & Notes

The Twins gave their fans something to celebrate on Thursday night with an exciting come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees. Minnesota trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth before scoring four runs with two home runs off of Aroldis Chapman to pull out the 7-5 win. The excitement of that win was short-lived however as the Twins lost to the Astros the following night.

Minnesota’s pitching staff has been torched for seven runs per game over the Twins’ last four games and for 6.6 runs per game during the team’s current 3-7 slump. The Twins dropped to 25-38 on the season with their loss on Friday night and are now 2-5 over their last seven home games.

Betting Pick: OVER 9 runs

Luis Garcia and Jose Berrios have both been reliable starters this season. With that said, both of these offenses are hitting the ball well, and as the game wears on the total should eventually climb OVER nine runs.