Astros closing in on .500 mark as they host Twins

If the Houston Astros hadn't previously rallied to victory earlier on a road trip that took them through Toronto and Detroit, their late-inning comeback against the Tigers on Sunday might have come as more of a surprise.

The Astros capped a 5-2 road trip with a 7-5 win over the Tigers in 10 innings. Houston will open a six-game homestand on Monday with the first of three contests against the Minnesota Twins. The Astros are two games under .500 and one game behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West.

Houston trailed Detroit 3-0 entering the top of the seventh inning before Raynel Delgado, Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker homered to spearhead the victory. The Astros scored 19 runs in the seventh inning or later during the trip.

"We came out on a mission trying to get to .500, trying to win series, and that's another series win," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "We're really grinding through this. I'm really proud of the way we're going about our business.

"All the small, little plays that we make just to give us an opportunity to hit or hand the baton to somebody else, it matters. When you're trying to win games, you need contributions from everyone."

Right-hander Peter Lambert (6-4, 3.28 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Astros. He is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA over his last six starts. He did not factor into the decision of a 9-7, 11-inning victory over the Blue Jays last Tuesday after allowing two runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. That marked just the second time this season that Lambert failed to log at least five innings in a start.

Lambert will make his first career appearance against the Twins.

Right-hander Zebby Matthews (3-5, 4.56) has the starting assignment for the Twins. He absorbed a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22 despite recording a quality start, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings. Matthews has worked at least six innings in four consecutive starts and in seven of eight starts this season.

Matthews will make his second career start against the Astros. He surrendered two runs on five hits with six strikeouts over six innings in a 2-1 home loss to Houston on May 19.

The Twins salvaged the finale of their six-game homestand with a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. Minnesota capped the homestand with a 2-4 record by taking the rubber match of its three-game series with the Rockies. The Twins have won eight of their last 13 games.

Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts while working six innings on Sunday. He produced 20 swings and misses and averaged 95.9 miles per hour on 24 four-seam fastballs.

"The exciting thing, if I'm a Twins fan, is this guy continues to get better," Twins manager Derek Shelton said of Prielipp. "And I think that's a really good sign because left-handers that can rush it up there in the mid-90s and spin the ball, it's a really valuable thing to have."

--Field Level Media