MINNEAPOLIS — Uh-oh, Minnesota. There's a new Verlander in Houston.
That's how it looked to the Twins anyway, a team that believed it had been freed from their most unhittable tormenter when the three-time Cy Young winner changed leagues last winter. But Sunday at Target Field, rookie righthander Hunter Brown channeled the spirit, the cool and especially the fastball of Justin Verlander, pitching the Astros to a two-hit, 5-1 victory over the Twins.
Tyler Mahle wasn't bad in his first Target Field start since Aug. 17, but he made a couple of mistakes to Astros leadoff man Chas McCormick. One wound up in the planters atop the right-field wall with a runner aboard, and one was a two-out ground ball into center field with runners at second and third, allowing McCormick to rack up four RBI on the afternoon.
