Minnesota Twins vs Houston Astros Prediction: Can the Twins get themselves back to the game?

On Thursday, game four of the American League Division Series will take place at Target Field, featuring a matchup between the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins.

After suffering a loss on Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins are again playing from behind and will try their best to force a winner-take-all fifth game into the series. Willi Castro was responsible for the only run batted in for the Minnesota Twins during the game, which they ultimately lost. Max Kepler had a double, and Carlos Correa contributed a base knock of his own to round out the offensive output for the Minnesota Twins, who managed just three hits as a team. Sonny Gray was charged with the defeat after he worked for four innings and allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out six batters. Joe Ryan, who finished the regular season with a record of 11-10, a 4.51 earned run average, and 197 strikeouts, will get the start for the Minnesota Twins today. After dropping their previous game, the Minnesota Twins have come back to win each of their last eight contests. Following a defeat, the Minnesota Twins have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight-day games at Target Field versus the Houston Astros.

Following their victory in game three on Tuesday by a score of 9-1, the Houston Astros now have the opportunity to win the series and claim bragging rights. Alex Bregman went 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs, while Yordan Alvarez went 3 for 5 with a single home run, two doubles, and a pair of home runs. Jose Abreu led the way with a pair of home runs and five RBIs. Alex Bregman had a home run and two RBIs. To round off the scoring for the winning effort by the Astros, Kyle Tucker contributed his own run batted in to the equation. Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena both hit singles, and Martin Maldonado and Mauricio Dubon each hit doubles to round out the Houston Astros' offensive output. Cristian Javier pitched a no-hitter over the course of five innings, allowing no hits and striking out nine batters. In the regular season, Jose Urquidy pitched to a record of 3-3 with a 5.29 earned run average and 45 strikeouts. He will get the start here.

I'm going to go ahead and put my money on the Houston Astros to win this contest. I'm not a fan of either of these starting pitchers, but Joe Ryan has a history of being susceptible to allowing a lot of runs and taking a lot of hard contact this year, and I don't see that changing against a Houston Astros team that looked like it had found its offensive groove on Tuesday. I believe that the Houston Astros have a superior bullpen in this matchup, which is another reason why I will take them to win the series.