Hector Santiago (10-5, 4.37 ERA) and Mike Fiers (7-5, 4.34 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a four-game series between the Minnesota Twins (46-66) and the Houston Astros (57-55) at Target Field. The Twins won the last game 3-1, and Minnesota leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 9 and can be seen on RTSW and FSN.
Santiago pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering four runs, striking out four and walking two in a 9-2 defeat to the Indians. Fiers went 6.0 innings, surrendering two runs and striking out seven in a 4-1 defeat to the Blue Jays in his last outing. Jose Altuve (.356, 80 Rs, 19 HRs, 67 RBIs, 25 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Astros, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one RBI.
Houston takes on Minnesota as a -116 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Twins have an overall money line of -1,056 and a record as the underdog of 35-52. Minnesota has gone 6-2 in its last 10 as the underdog. The Twins have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.5 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.6 runs per game. The Twins are one of the best in the MLB in terms of extra base hits with 369.
In games where it is the favorite, Houston has a 41-40 record and an overall money line of -1,050. They played poorly as the favorite over their last 10 games with a 2-5 record and a 2-8 record SU. Offensively, the Astros have really sputtered in the last 10 games. They have decreased their season average of 4.3 runs per game by averaging 2.3 during that stretch. The Astros are an excellent base stealing team with 80 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB. Moving on to Houston’s pitching staff and defense, the Astros allow just 4.0 runs per game, ranking them first in the AL. The Astros have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an AL-best 8.7 strikeouts per game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Twins have a bad 14-26 record at home (30-51 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Fiers takes the mound. Santiago (LHP) will be on the hill against the Astros, who have a 15-20 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, O/U – Over
Notes
The Twins are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Astros have a 10-28 record when opponents give up two walks or less.
It looks like the Twins have a slight leg up on the Astros, as the Twins have won their last two games while the Astros have lost their last three.
When they outhit their opponents, the Twins are 33-7. The Astros have a 43-5 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 20th, Houston sits in the bottom half of the league in runs, scoring 484 this season. Minnesota ranks in the top half at 12th with 516.
Ranking 10th, Minnesota is in the top 10 of the league in walks, notching 358 this season. Houston ranks in the top five with 400.
The Twins are 38-34 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Astros are 48-32 when they hit at least one homer.
