Michael Shapiro is a sports reporter for Chron, covering the Astros, Rockets, Texans and every team in town. Michael is a Denver native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and a noted fan of pull-up threes, wide-receiver passes and a good hot fudge sundae.

With the undermanned Astros’ offense struggling to score runs, the starting pitchers are being left with little margin for error these days. And the only run Astros starter Framber Valdez allowed in M

In their necessary hunt for a third solid starting pitcher, the Astros could land an underrated option from the Twin Cities.

Preview the July 28 matchup between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals with odds over/under, game spread, betting lines and more.