Two of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment will clash at Target Field Friday night when the Houston Astros will visit the Minnesota Twins for the opener of a three-game set. The Astros have won five of their last six and are sitting pretty at the top of the AL West five games ahead of Texas while the Twins had won six straight before losing 5-4 t the Trop last night. With the AL Central division title well out of reach, they'll have to focus on claiming one of the Wild Cards in the AL, and I think they should come into this contest with plenty of motivation to back an upset.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Astros hand the ball to Scott Kazmir (7-8, 2.39 ERA) who tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers his last start. He had lost three straight prior though conceding a total of 13 runs (nine earned) on 22 hits and eight walks over 16 2/3 innings. Much like the whole Astros team he's been much better home in Houston where he's 5-3 with a 1.80 compared to a 2-5 record behind a 3.19 ERA on the road. He gave up six runs on seven hits in six innings of a 13-0 loss his last visit to Target Field on May 6. The Twins will counter with Kyle Gibson (8-9, 3.96 ERA) who's gone through a rough patch with a 0-3 record behind a 7.22 ERA in his last seven starts. He's a solid 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA home at Target Field this season though and 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three career starts against the Astros.

2. Situational - The Astros are just 6-20 in their last 26 games as a road favorite while the Twins have won six of their last seven as an underdog. They've won four of Gibson's last five home-starts.

3. X-Factor - Minnesota's 173 runs scored against left-handers this season is the third best mark in the major-leagues.

Selection: This is a play on the Minnesota Twins +1.5 (8*)