The World Champion Houston Astros hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins. The two teams were scheduled to kick off the series on Thursday but the game was canceled due to poor weather. The pitching matchup for Saturday will be Houston right-hander Luis Garcia (0-1, 5.4o) taking on Twins' righty Joe Ryan (1-0, 1.50). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:10 PM EST.
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The Houston Astros have started slowly in defense of their 2022 World Series title. Starting the season at home, the Astros went just 3-4 in series against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Houston has had to adjust with a new lineup to start the season after longtime leadoff hitter Jose Altuve suffered an injury in the WBC that will sideline him for at least the first few months of the season. The Astros are hitting .248 heading into this series with seven home runs. Two key pieces of the Astros lineup, perennial all-star Alex Bregman and World Series MVP Jeremy Pena, are hitting a combined .169 and Bregman has yet to hit a home run or drive in any runs. On Friday afternoon, the Astros lost 3-2 in 10-innings to the Twins in the series opener. The Astros' bats remained quiet, getting just five hits while striking out 16 times in the loss.
We're s o back ?? pic.twitter.com/FwhpiHunZA
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 5, 2023
Astros' righty Garcia will make his second start of the season on Saturday afternoon. Garcia went five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs while taking the loss in a 6-3 loss to the White Sox. Last April, Garcia went 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts in April. On the road in 2022, Garcia was 4-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 13 starts. He allowed just 56 hits in 72.2 innings of work on the road. Garcia was also 2-0 in two starts against the Twins last season with a tidy 2.70 ERA.
Key Injuries: Altuve, Mike Brantley and Lance McCullars Jr. are all out.