After getting back into the win column on Tuesday night, the Houston Astros were back at it Wednesday afternoon for the series finale with the Minnesota Twins.
On the mound for the Twins was right-hander Kyle Gibson. He was 10-9 on the season with a 4.13 ERA coming into Wednesday's game. He was simply lights out against Houston. The Astros could not get anything going against him. In the bottom of the eighth inning, following Jose Altuve's single, Chris Carter drove him home with an RBI single. All of the Astros' hits in the game were singles. Gibson allowed only one run on six hits in 7 2/3 innings.
Pitching for the Astros, was left-hander Brett Oberholtzer. He was 4-7 with a 4.05 ERA coming into Wednesday's game. This season has been really tough for Oberholtzer. Throughout this season he has been pitching extremely well. Numerous times however, he has ended up with no-decisions or a loss despite good outings. The Astros' offense could not get anything going, and on Wednesday afternoon, the theme continued. Oberholtzer was pitching lights out just like Gibson. At some point, one team had to put a run on the scoreboard. Joe Mauer launched a solo home run into the Astros' bullpen in the top of the sixth inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for Oberholtzer, he left after seven innings only giving up one run on six hits. He was in line for the loss, and all he could hope for was a late rally by the Astros to give him a no-decision. The Astros' offense continued to be quiet. In the eighth inning, the Twins loaded the bases with no outs. Kenny Vargas came through with a 2-run single into left-center field to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. The game was slipping away from the Astros. However in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Astros did get on the board with an RBI single by Chris Carter, but that was all their offense could muster. It was too late and the Twins had won, 3-1.
It was another tough loss for Brett Oberholtzer. Some games pitchers pitch outstanding, but the offense just doesn't provide run support. Kyle Gibson pitched well and the Twins' offense backed him up with run support. Losses like these hurt, but the Astros will have a chance to bounce back into the win column Thursday night when they face the Boston Red Sox.