Two of the league’s best power hitters go head-to-head when the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros play at Target Field, at 7:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Byron Buxton has 15 homers (fourth in league) for the Twins, and Yordan Alvarez ranks fourth with 15 round-trippers for the Astros. Zebby Matthews (1-0, 0.00 ERA) gets the start for the Twins, who are 22-26 this season and third in the AL Central. Lance McCullers (2-3, 6.86 ERA) is the expected starter for the Astros, who are 19-30 and fourth in the AL West.
How to watch Houston Astros vs. Minnesota TwinsAstros vs. Twins odds
Injury reportsTwins
Garrett Acton: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Cole Sands: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Cody Laweryson: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Taj Bradley: 15 Day IL (Pectoral), Mick Abel: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60 Day IL (Elbow), David Festa: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Byron Buxton: day-to-day (Hip), Ryan Jeffers: day-to-day (Wrist)
Astros
Joey Loperfido: 10 Day IL (Quadricep), Carlos Correa: 10 Day IL (Ankle), Jake Meyers: 10 Day IL (Oblique), Taylor Trammell: 10 Day IL (Groin), Jose Altuve: 10 Day IL (Side), Yainer Diaz: 10 Day IL (Abdominal), Nate Pearson: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Bennett Sousa: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Hunter Brown: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Ronel Blanco: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Brandon Walter: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Cristian Javier: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Josh Hader: 60 Day IL (Biceps)
Stats to know
Minnesota’s Buxton has hit 15 home runs this season, which ranks 4th in MLB. He has also tallied 23 RBIs and has scored 33 runs. In 185 plate appearances, he has recorded a .260 BA, .319 OBP and .580 SLG with a 7% walk rate and a 25.4% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording four steals on four attempts.
In 148 plate appearances, Ryan Jeffers has hit seven long balls, tallied 26 RBIs and scored 26 runs. He is batting .295/.408/.541 and has posted a 15.5% strikeout rate and a 15.5% walk rate.
Houston’s Alvarez is slashing .316/.427/.633 this season with 15 home runs (4th in MLB), 31 RBIs (13th in MLB) and an OPS of 1.060 (2nd in MLB). He has a 16% strikeout rate and a 14.6% walk rate in 213 plate appearances, and he has scored 30 total runs.
In 198 plate appearances, Christian Walker has slashed .267/.343/.511 this season. He has hit 11 long balls (18th in MLB) and driven in 31 runs (13th in MLB) with a strikeout rate of 19.2% and a walk rate of 9.1%. and has scored 27 runs.
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