HOUSTON _ Mitch Garver set up on the four spot _ down and away _ in the first inning on Monday. But Kyle Gibson left it over the middle of the plate for Alex Bregman to bash into the seats in left.
A first-pitch curveball to Yuli Gurriel hung over the middle of the plate in the fourth inning. That one, too, was blasted out to left for another solo home run.
Those were two big mistakes by Gibson, and a reason why the Twins were Labor Day losers to the Astros, falling 4-1. But there was far more good to Gibson's performance that bad. Houston did score two runs off of him in the second, but one was fueled by a Jorge Polanco error.
For the most part, Gibson was crisp, got 12 ground ball outs and retired the last 11 Astros hitters he faced after Gurriel's home run _ striking out the side in the seventh to finish his outing with authority. Gibson now has pitched at least seven innings 10 times this season, second on the team only to Jose Berrios, who has 12.
In seven innings Monday, Gibson gave up two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five. He falls to 7-12 on the season, but that record doesn't reflect how he has thrown the ball most of the time.
Unfortunately for the Twins, falling behind early _ with the lineup they had on Monday _ was too much to overcome.
Their most productive hitter, Eddie Rosario missed his fourth straight game with a sore right quadriceps. Left-hander Dallas Keuchel was on the mound, and Max Kepler hits lefties, but he's also in a 2-for-17 slump. So he didn't start but struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. And Keuchel was on point Monday, holding the Twins to one unearned run on five hits and two walks over six innings before handing off. Collin McHugh and his curveball came swashbuckling out of the bullpen to strike out five Twins over the next two innings. With 11 strikeouts on Monday, the Twins have reached double digits in strikeouts 47 times this season.
The Twins had a shot in the ninth inning. Jake Cave led off with a single off the forearm of reliever Hector Rodon, forcing him from the game. Will Harris replaced him and got two outs, but also walked Max Kepler. Brad Peacock entered and gave up a single to Logan Forsythe to load the bases.
Polanco hit two foul balls down the right-field line that worried the announced crowd of 39,559, but he struck out to end the game, the Twins' eighth loss in their last 11 games.
