Astros Valdez Goes for 21 Straight Quality Starts

The Twins had to place Byron Buxton on the injured list, which is terrible - not only for the team but for timing. In the middle of a divisional race, one that is very close, and one that has just about a month left. This is a dangerous time to be falling behind and losing your best player.

It won't be easy tonight to rebound. They have to face the Astros, arguably the best team in the American League. On top of that, they have to face Framber Valdez who is looking to post his 21st straight quality start. It doesn't matter what you think of certain stats, that is impressively consistent, and it is hard to do. This signifies that the guy goes deep into games, and he doesn't get into much trouble. Now, he has flirted with disaster in two of his last three outings, he allowed seven hits and three walks in both games against the White Sox and Guardians, but still didn't allow more than three earned runs. Tonight, he should be able to extend his streak against the Buxton-less Twins.

Dylan Bundy takes the ball for the Twins, and as much as I've bashed him, I won't do it here. In his last two outings, he has turned in really strong starts - one was against the Rangers, one against the Angels. He has been able to control how many runs come across the plate, and he isn't getting hit very much. Now, he isn't very good on the road. He has allowed 41 earned runs in 63.1 innings resulting in a 5.83 ERA. Home runs have also been an issue for Bundy on the road, but his stellar August does provide some hope that he can be okay tonight. And, while almost everyone in the Astros' lineup has hits against Bundy, he's been pretty good overall against them holding them to a .236 average.

Here's the way I am playing this one: A moneyline parlay of the Astros in the first five innings and then for the full game. I think the other options are a little too juiced. I leaned towards a run line play, but ultimately, I think this is safer.

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