Astros host the Twins in first of 3-game series

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Minnesota Twins (40-45, third in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (42-44, third in the AL West)

Houston; Monday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Zebby Matthews (3-5, 4.56 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 39 strikeouts); Astros: Peter Lambert (6-4, 3.28 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 64 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -138, Twins +114; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros host the Minnesota Twins to begin a three-game series.

Houston has a 20-21 record at home and a 42-44 record overall. The Astros are fourth in MLB play with 112 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.

Minnesota has gone 18-22 on the road and 40-45 overall. Twins hitters have a collective .412 slugging percentage to rank eighth in the majors.

The teams meet Monday for the fourth time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 25 home runs while slugging .613. Jeremy Pena is 13 for 36 with two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.

Byron Buxton has 15 doubles, a triple and 25 home runs for the Twins. Trevor Larnach is 18 for 39 with five doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .234 batting average, 3.76 ERA, outscored by one run

Twins: 5-5, .289 batting average, 5.40 ERA, even run differential

INJURIES: Astros: Braden Shewmake: 10-Day IL (groin), Bennett Sousa: 15-Day IL (elbow), Nick Allen: 10-Day IL (hamstring), LaMonte Wade: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Twins: Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (elbow), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (hand), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.