Invaders From The North

Minnestoa Twins (52-64) @ Houston Astros (49-69)

Just when you think the Astros may be starting to put things together and understand what it takes to win at this level, they drop a stinker like Sunday’s loss to the Rangers. The game started well but then took a dramatic turn, and the Astros showcased all of the things that they can do so poorly. Hopefully that’s just a one-game brain fart and they’ll realize that they aren’t good enough to try to put things on cruise control. Their current .415 winning percentage puts them on pace for 67 wins to avoid their fourth straight 100-loss season, which would be nice. I can’t remember who had 67 in the RFTL; I think I had 65, which is definitely still in range.

Monday, August 11, 7:10 CDT

Tommy Milone (6-3, 3.55) vs Brad Peacock (3-8, 5.44)

Milone came over to the Twins on July 31 in the Sam Fuld trade, but he hasn’t pitched since July 4, so this will be his first outing as a Twinkie. In his last three starts prior to coming over he was 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA and 12 Ks. Milone has seen quite a few of the current Astros, and he owns them: 10 hits in 56 ABs, with only three walks, for a .179/.220/.250 line. Yikes.

You may want to seek out alternative entertainment Monday night: in his last three starts, Peacock is 0-3 with a 16.00 ERA and 7 Ks. I have no idea how he struck out 7 people. He has only faced three current Twins, and those three only have a combined 2 hits in 7 ABs against him, but those two hits are a double and a home run. I expect this game to resemble a pinball machine in action, at least when the Twins are at bat.

Tuesday, August 12, 7:10 CDT

Yohan Pino (1-4, 4.59) vs Collin McHugh (4-9, 3.18)

Pino is in his rookie year, and he is 0-1 with 4.50 ERA and 13 Ks in his last three starts. He has never faced any of the Astros, and he’s a right-hander, and we all know what that means.

McHugh is this year’s poster child for poor support. In his last three outings, in particular, he is 0-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 22 Ks in 19.2 innings. He is the unfortunate soul whose should-have-been 5-1 win was cruelly squandered by the bullpen last Thursday, but that’s just the latest insult in a season-long string of them. I have high hopes for this game; if the Astros are going to win a game in this series, I expect that this will be the one. But it will probably require a complete game effort from McHugh.

Wednesday, August 13, 1:10 CDT

Kyle Gibson (10-9, 4.13) vs Brett Oberholtzer (4-7, 4.05)

Gibson is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA and 16 Ks in his last three starts. Current Astros are 6-27 against him, with two doubles and no other extra-base hits. Robbie Baseball seems to see him best: he’s 2-2. A possible harbinger of good things to come: only three of the 21 outs were Ks, so the Astros at least put the ball in play against him. Maybe some of those balls will start to drop.

Oberholtzer had a rough start to the year, but he apparently figured something out during his June trip to OKC. Since coming back up he’s had 7 starts, he’s pitched into the 7th inning in all of them, he has a 3.28 ERA, and the Astros are 5-2 in those starts (and his record is 2-1). His last three starts are even better: 2-0 with a 3.05 ERA, and the Astros have won all three games. If he can keep this up he’ll be a useful piece for the future.

Injuries

Twins

Joe Mauer has been rehabbing a right oblique strain and may be back for this series. Ricky Nolasco is on a rehab assignment for a right elbow strain and may be back next week. And Mike Pelfrey is out with June elbow surgery; they say that he might be back in September, but that’s hard to believe.

Astros

Did you know that Matt Albers and Jesse Crain are injured? I know, that blew my mind, too. But Albers apparently threw off a mound last week, and Crain threw off flat ground over the weekend. I suppose it’s possible that Albers may make an appearance before the year is over, but I wouldn’t count on Crain.

Fowler’s intercostal strain is healed enough that he is on a rehab stint in OKC and may be back soon. Presley (strained right oblique) is nearly ready to begin a rehab assignment. Springer took BP yesterday and may be able to ease his way back into the lineup as DH this week. Guzman (back spasms) could be back in a week, but there’s no real hurry, big fella, so take your time; we might be able to find you some ABs in November.

Zeid’s season is over after undergoing surgery on August 6 for bilateral sesamoiditis, which is actually a foot problem but sounds like something that might have afflicted George Brett or Kaz Matsui.

Miscellaneous

Apparently the Twins are a big enough draw by themselves that there’s no need to juice the crowd with giveaways, so the only promotions will be Coca-Cola Value Days on Monday and Wednesday.