The Twins are breathing in the neck of the Cleveland Indians in the race to the top of the AL Central and they’ll be looking to inch closer to the Tribe, when Minnesota starts Kyle Gibson in the third and last game of their series against the Astros.
Gibson hasn’t had a good season so far, however. He spent some time to start the season in Triple- A and finished the first half with mediocre figures of a 5-7 win-loss record and a 6.31 ERA.
Before plunging into the All-Star break, Gibson dirtied his numbers some more when he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in just four innings of an 11-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Jul. 9. If anything, Gibson is better on the road than at home this season. He is 3-2 with a 5.20 ERA in seven starts away from the Twin City.
Up against Houston righty Mike Fiers, the pair of Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer will look to provide some activity at the plate. Dozier is 5-for-20 (.250) with two homers in his career against Fiers, while Mauer is 5-for-18 (.278) in the matchup.
Fiers has had a better first half than Gibson, as the six-year veteran is 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA across 17 starts thus far this year.
In his last outing, Fiers went six innings long, allowing three earned runs on five hits in a 7-2 road loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Jul. 8. He’ll get a shot at bouncing back against the Twins’ weak bats that should play well to his strengths based on how he’s fared of late.
Fiers has allowed just one long ball in his last eight starts and has the third lowest home run allowed per nine innings pitched ratio in the AL over the last 30 days. The Twins, on the other hand, are just 23rd and 25th in the majors in home runs and slugging percentage, respectively. Moreover, Fiers is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in eight total games pitched against Minnesota dating back to 2012.
