How Houston Astros can regain rhythm and snap skid in Minnesota

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Astros Hunter Brown, Jeremy Pena
Hunter Brown is on the hill for Houston. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros will try to end a three-game losing streak when they take on the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon at Target Field.

Both teams enter at 2-4 and will look to gain early-season momentum. Houston hands the ball to Hunter Brown (0-1, 3.00 ERA), who struck out seven in his season debut but took the loss. Minnesota counters with Joe Ryan (0-0, 1.80 ERA), who was sharp in his first outing, allowing just one run with five strikeouts.

Houston’s offense has struggled to find consistency, averaging just 2.0 runs per game during its losing streak. The Astros will look for a spark against a Twins pitching staff that posted a 4.27 ERA last season and has been solid early this year.

Minnesota, which finished 82-80 last year, relies on strong pitching and averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023. The Twins also play well at home, going 43-38 at Target Field last season.

Houston hopes to get its bats going and avoid falling deeper into an early-season hole.

Here's a look at the lineup Joe Espada is rolling with in Game 1. Mauricio Dubon will make the start in center field over Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick, which makes sense considering Meyers and McCormick's struggles with the bat.

Meyers hasn't recorded a hit since Opening Day, and McCormick struck out three times in the finale versus the Giants. Victor Caratini will start over Yainer Diaz at catcher, giving Espada another left-handed bat in the lineup. Diaz only has two hits on the season, so maybe the team can find an offensive spark with Caratini. Brendan Rodgers will start at second base, with Dubon penciled in center field.


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Fred VanVleet agrees to new contract with Houston. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

For the Houston Rockets, it's already been an exciting offseason, with the team trading for NBA superstar Kevin Durant earlier this week. The Rockets also inked extensions with big man Steven Adams and head coach Ime Udoka in recent weeks.

Apparently the action isn't slowing down as the Rockets have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with guard Fred VanVleet.

Senior ESPN NBA analyst Sham Charania is reporting that VanVleet intends to sign a 2-year, $50 million contract with Houston.

Charania is also reporting that VanVleet has a player option for the 2026-2027 season.

In 60 games, VanVleet averaged just over 14 points and 5.6 assists per game last season.

Per NBC Sports' Kurt Helin:

This is a team-friendly deal for the Rockets that gets them below the luxury tax line, helping them avoid the repeater tax. It also opens up the full $14.1 million mid-level exception to add more talent to the roster. For VanVleet, it's more total money and an extra year of security.

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