Minnesota @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2018 ) Minnesota 1, Houston 9

The Minnesota Twins have been quite comfortable playing on the road this season and hope to continue the trend when they visit the Houston Astros for the first of three games Monday night. The Twins, who belted 11 homers in a doubleheader sweep Saturday at Baltimore, finished off the series with a 4-3 victory on Sunday and have won seven of their first 10 away from home this season.

“You never know how you come back after a big offensive night,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters after his team scored four times in the first four innings and held off a late rally Sunday. “Obviously it wasn’t like the night we had (Saturday) but it was still good. Guys grinded through it and we scored enough.” Jake Odorizzi tries to string two wins together when he takes the mound for the Twins in the series opener and Houston gives the ball to fellow right-hander Brad Peacock after leaving the bases loaded in an 11-10 loss at Texas on Sunday. The Astros had won 10 games in a row before dropping three of their last four and gave up a whopping 20 runs the last two days against the rival Rangers after winning the series opener. George Springer has homered four times, including in each of the last two games, and knocked in eight runs in his past eight outings for Houston while teammate Michael Brantley boasts a seven-game hitting streak in which he is 9-for-26.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), AT&T SportsNet Southwest Plus (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Jake Odorizzi (1-2, 4.76 ERA) vs. Astros RH Brad Peacock (2-0, 3.94)

Odorizzi earned his first victory of the season last Wednesday, limiting Toronto to one run on six hits with six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of a 4-1 victory. The 29-year-old Illinois native yielded eight runs (seven earned) across 5 1/3 frames in his previous two starts, but has held opponents to a .172 batting average overall. Alex Bregman is 2-for-3 with a homer versus Odorizzi, who is 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA in five career starts against the Astros after splitting two decisions in 2018.

Peacock returns to the rotation after two straight outings in relief, one of which ended up as a victory at Seattle on April 12. The 31-year-old Florida native has permitted three runs (two earned) across 11 innings on the road this year and gave up five runs over five frames in his only home start. Max Kepler is 2-for-3 with a homer against Peacock, who made four appearances out of the bullpen versus Minnesota last year while allowing one run across 3 1/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Houston OF Josh Reddick is 12-for-30 with a pair of homers in his last seven contests.

2. Kepler and Twins RHP Blake Parker (four saves) both missed the Baltimore series due to illness and are day-to-day.

3. Astros 2B Jose Altuve (eight homers, 17 RBIs) was held out of the starting lineup for rest Sunday, but walked in a run in the ninth as a pinch hitter.

PREDICTION: Twins 6, Astros 5