McHugh, Astros blank Twins

The Sports Xchange
HOUSTON – All it required was a pair of unusual events for Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey for his mound counterpart, Astros right-hander Collin McHugh, to fuel his recent run of mound excellence.
McHugh carried a shutout into the eighth inning and rode a jolting display of power in the Houston Astros’ 8-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Minute Maid Park.
Coming off a stellar month in which he posted a 1.89 ERA over five quality starts, McHugh (15-7) scattered seven hits and one walk over 7 2/3 innings while recording six strikeouts. He allowed consecutive runners in the first and third innings before utilizing his defense to escape the first jam and his own savvy pitching to snuff the second rally.
Left fielder Colby Rasmus and catcher Hank Conger provided the thump for the Astros (74-61) with timely homers off Pelfrey (6-9), who entered sporting the longest string of starts without allowing a home run (seven) in the American League. Conger went 2-for-4 and matched his career high of five RBIs while Houston welcomed back right fielder George Springer (1-for-4) from a prolonged stint on the disabled list.
“We’ve had a lot of guys contribute with the homer this year and I think it’s a big reason why we are where we are,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve gotten production from every slot in the order.”
The Twins (69-65) dropped consecutive games for the first time since suffering a three-game sweep to the New York Yankees on Aug. 17-19.
“McHugh was good,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “We watched him a lot. He showed us the same thing. He had a lot of poise. We couldn’t touch his curveball all night. He had good command of his cutter. It was kind of bleak overall.”
Springer made an immediate impact in his first game since July 1, slapping an opposite-field single to right field leading off the first inning before scampering to third base when second baseman Jose Altuve followed with a hit-and-run single to right. Springer scored the first run when shortstop Carlos Correa reached on a fielder’s choice.
That burst followed a dazzling defensive play by Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez, who fielded a Miguel Sano single and gunned down Twins first baseman Joe Mauer at the plate to close the first inning.
Houston 8, Minnesota 0
MIN ab r h bi HOU ab r h bi
Hicks cf 4 0 1 0 Springr rf 4 1 1 0
Dozier 2b 4 0 0 0 Tucker ph 1 0 0 0
Santana ss 0 0 0 0 Altuve 2b 4 0 1 0
Mauer 1b 4 0 2 0 Correa ss 4 0 0 1
Vargas 1b 0 0 0 0 Gattis dh 4 1 2 0
Sano dh 4 0 1 0 Lowrie 3b 3 2 3 0
Plouffe 3b 4 0 1 0 Villar ph 1 1 1 0
Rosario lf 4 0 0 0 Gomez cf 4 1 1 0
Hunter rf 3 0 0 0 Mrsnck cf 0 0 0 0
Robnson rf 0 0 0 0 Rasmus lf 4 1 2 2
Suzuki c 2 0 1 0 Valbuna 1b 2 0 0 0
Fryer c 0 0 0 0 Carter ph 1 0 0 0
Escobar ss 3 0 1 0 Conger c 4 1 2 5
Totals 32 0 7 0 Totals 36 8 13 8
Minnesota 000 000 000 - 0
Houston 120 400 01x - 8
LOB-Houston 5, Minnesota 6. 2B-Lowrie (13), Mauer (26), Plouffe (30). HR-Conger (10), Cl.Rasmus (18).
IP H R ER BB SO
Minnesota
Pelfrey L, 6-9 4 8 7 7 0 5
Boyer 1 2 0 0 0 1
O’Rourke 1 0 0 0 1 0
Achter 1 0 0 0 0 1
Tonkin 1 3 1 1 0 3
Houston
McHugh W, 15-7 7 2-3 7 0 0 1 6
Thatcher 1-3 0 0 0 0 1
M.Feliz 1 0 0 0 0 2
Umpires-Home, Jim Reynolds; First, Paul Schrieber; Second, Fieldin Culbreth; Third, Manny Gonzalez.
T-2:35. A-27,807 (43,836)