Houston at Minnesota , 7:10 pm (CT)
TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Twins SBNation Blog: Twinkie Town
Pitching Match
LHP Eik Bedard ( 3 - 8 / 4.28 ERA / 1.45 WHIP) vs. RHP Kyle Gibson ( 2-3 / 6.21 ERA / 1.53 WHIP)
Preview
The Astros must dust themselves off and get back up after two blown saves spoil Jarred Cosart's fine outing. Shouldn't be too difficult, they have 71 previous games to practice.
On the mound today for the Astros is Erik Bedard. Bedard was scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday to rest his aging shoulder. Bedard was 0-5 in his five starts in July, but he has only given up four earned runs over his last 16 1/3 innings. Over that same three game stretch, he has 22 strikeouts and 8 walks.
Justin Morneau could make a career out his at-bats against Bedard, in 29 at-bats he is batting .379 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 11 runs batted in. Joe Mauer is battting .316 (6-19) with a double against the Astros lefty.
Kyle Gibson got the call to the majors after a 7-5 record with a 3.01 ERA in AAA Rochester. Jonathan Mayo ranked Gibson as the 4th best prospect in the Twins system at the start of the 2013 season. Of Gibson, Mayo said:
That repertoire includes an above-average fastball with sink and an outstanding sinking changeup. His slider gives him a third above-average offering. When he's right, he keeps the ball down in the zone from a downhill plane, inducing many groundballs.
Gibson picked up the loss in his last outing, giving up five runs over five innings against Seattle. In his first four starts, he didn't give up a single home run. In his last two, he has given up four
.