This is what a lost month looks like. The Astros are 11 games under .500, just put Jose Altuve on the IL with an oblique strain, and are still waiting on Hunter Brown, Josh Hader, Yainer Diaz and Carlos Correa (who's having ankle surgery, not a quick return). The good news: Jake Meyers is expected back during this series. The bad news: that doesn't fix the rotation.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILJake Meyers CF — Meyers (oblique) will join the Astros in Minneapolis and is slated to be activated from the 10-day injured list during the series against the Twins, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILJose Altuve 2B — The Astros placed Altuve on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left oblique strain.
- 10-Day-ILCarlos Correa SS — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Loperfido LF — The Astros announced Monday that Loperfido (quadriceps) has started light running and light baseball activity, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILTaylor Trammell CF — The Astros announced Monday that Trammell (groin) has begun a running progression in addition to taking part in light baseball activity, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILYainer Diaz C — The Astros placed Diaz (oblique) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILNate Pearson RP — Pearson (elbow) could be activated from the 15-day injured list during Houston's series against Minnesota, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- Day-To-DayRyan Jeffers C — Jeffers left Monday's game against Houston with a left wrist sprain, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
- Day-To-DayByron Buxton CF — Buxton (hip) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
- Day-To-DayWalker Jenkins CF — Twins manager Jeremy Zoll said Saturday that Jenkins (shoulder) is "reporting improvements daily" and could begin light baseball activity in about a week, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
- Day-To-DayCory Lewis SP — Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta said Thursday that Lewis (shoulder) is still a couple weeks away from throwing off a mound, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
- Day-To-DayJulian Merryweather RP — Merryweather (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with the Twins' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Tuesday, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
- Day-To-DayMatt Canterino SP — Canterino (shoulder) will be with the Twins in big-league spring training but isn't expected to pitch during camp as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Sands RP — Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said that Sands (forearm) played catch on consecutive days last week and is expected to spend about a month on the injured list, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Abel (elbow/triceps) resumed playing light catch Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
McCullers takes the ball at 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA, and Houston needs length out of him more than anything else with the bullpen this thin. He did show signs of life earlier this month — a strong outing against the Dodgers got people thinking the version from years ago might be hiding in there somewhere — but the season-long line still says hitters are teeing off.
Minnesota counters with Zebby Matthews, who threw 7 scoreless against Miami in his season debut on May 14 (4 hits, 1 walk, 5 K). That's the only data point on his 2026 ledger, hence the 0.00 ERA next to his name. Small sample, sure, but a fresh arm against a banged-up Astros lineup that just lost its second baseman is the kind of edge the Twins have been waiting for.
The Twins aren't exactly humming either — 22-26, with Byron Buxton out (hip) and Ryan Jeffers leaving Monday's game with a wrist sprain. But they've won 3 of their last 5, and the market clearly likes them tonight: Pinnacle has Minnesota at -135 with positive EV on the moneyline, and the public is on the same side at DK (77% of handle, 61% of bets on the Twins ML).
Total sits at 8.5 on Pinnacle and 9 on DK, which feels honest given Matthews's profile and McCullers's volatility — one mistake inning from Lance and we're racing to the over by the 5th. If you trust the Matthews debut and the Astros' walking-wounded lineup, the under is the cleaner read. If you don't, this game gets ugly in a hurry.