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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins will try to build on one of their most productive road trips of the season when they open a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Target Field on Monday night.In that attempt, the Twins will also get back third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who has missed the last month with a fractured rib.The Twins went 5-2 on a seven-game trip that began with three wins in a four-game series against Central Division-leading Cleveland last week at Progressive Field. Minnesota also won two of three over Tampa Bay over the weekend, capped by third baseman Miguel Sanos two homer afternoon in a 6-3 win on Sunday.While Sano was able to get going against the Rays, Twins skipper Paul Molitor will be forced to shuffle his lineup around with the return of Plouffe, a third baseman who has also seen time at first base this season.Plouffes 2016 campaign has been a disappointment thus far; the slugger has just seven homers after hitting 22 last year and has a career low .283 on-base percentage. But he was swinging well in 12 games before the injury, hitting .326 with a pair of homers and seven RBI over the final two weeks of June. He also hit .316 with a homer and two RBI in five rehabilitation games with Triple-A Rochester before being activated following the win in Tampa on Sunday.To make room for Plouffe, the Twins sent down struggling center fielder Byron Buxton, who entered the season as one of the top prospects in all of baseball.After an underwhelming first taste of big-league action last season, Buxton hasnt fared much better this time around, hitting just .193 with 80 strikeouts in 197 at-bats in 2016.All I can tell you is that I like having people like Byron around here, Molitor said. Hes got to go down there and work on some physical things, mechanical things, and hopefully get a little confidence back.The Astros come to town off a 5-3 loss to Texas in Houston on Sunday, a game that saw the Astros rally from three runs down late before allowing a pair of runs in the top of the 11th inning.Texas won two of three against Houston over the weekend, helping the Rangers increase their lead to 7 1/2 games over the Astros for first place in the American League West. The Seattle Mariners, who have won three-straight games, also moved ahead of Houston for second place in the division.Any time I leave this podium after a loss, I hate it, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said, according to MLB.com. I dont care what team is on the other side. I dont care what division theyre in, what league theyre in, how the loss happened. ... Im not naive. I know that those games (against the Rangers) are going to be magnified ... but if we had lost to an unnamed team not named the Rangers, I would be just as disappointed.Houston native Tyler Duffey will take the mound for Minnesota in game one of the series. Duffey, who attended Bellaire High School and pitched for Rice University, has given up at least five runs in each of his last three starts and could pitch his way out of the rotation with another clunker on Monday.Duffey, a righty, allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings in a no decision last season in Houston in his only career start against his hometown team.Collin McHugh will go for the Astros, coming off a quality start against Toronto in which he allowed three runs in six innings of work. The right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings against the Twins at Minute Maid Park on May 3 but earned the win victory. Adidas Human Race Shop . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Fausse Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Pas Cher .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. http://www.basketnmdpascher.fr/ . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Sneakers Adidas Nmd Femme . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Adidas Nmd Pas Cher Chine . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Alastair Cook has admitted that England lack the consistency to be rated the No.1 Test side.England could, had they won at The Oval and seen other results around the world fall in their favour, have moved to the top of the Test rankings. Instead they suffered a 10-wicket defeat that leaves them fourth in the rankings and reflecting on something of a reality check.Most of all, they were left to ponder the continuing fragility of their top-order batting that saw only two of the top five (predictably, Cook and Joe Root) average 30 and the unreliability of their close catching which, on average missed two chances an innings.While Englands middle-order, specifically Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, often bailed the side out (both men averaged in excess of 50 in the series), none of Alex Hales, James Vince or Gary Ballance were convincing. Hales averaged 18.22 at the top of the order, while Vince has been given the entire Test summer in the side without registering a fifty; statistics that left Cook admitting they havent been good enough.At the beginning of this game the talk was you can become No.1; you could do all this, you could do all that, Cook said. But these four days probably show exactly where we are. Were a good side when were on it, but theres a few areas we need to improve to make that next step.Consistently over the summer, we havent scored enough runs at the top of the order. It is frustrating for us as a side. Its a big area weve got to keep working on - and obviously, for us to take that next step to consistency, top-order first-innings runs are vital.The lower order have got us out of trouble some of the time and its great that weve got strength in depth down there. But the majority of the time they should be putting the icing on the cake, not making the cake.There is a hell of a lot of talent in the guys who are playing, but they just havent got that score. I cant fault the lads efforts. Its not for lack of that. Its just they havent been good enough at this precise moment in time, and its something we have to look at.Cook also conceded that England had to go back to basics to improve their catching. They put down 15 chances over the course of the series - four more than Pakistan - rendering the job of their bowlers all the harder.ddddddddddddWith the catching this summer, well need to go back to basics and work incredibly hard again, Cook said. We cant afford to drop as many catches as we have in this series if we want to bowl sides out on good wickets like this one here.Theres could haves and should haves - all that kind of stuff - but weve given them four chances in that first session on day two. We should take three out of those four, and that puts a different complexion on it. That is a frustrating feeling.There were, Cook felt, some positives from the series. He credited the improved performances of Jonny Bairstow, who has every chance of establishing a new record for the most runs scored in a year by a Test wicketkeeper, and Moeen Ali, as well as celebrating the much-improved relationship between the two sides. Bairstow has now scored 992 Test runs (from 16 innings) in 2016, meaning only Andy Flower (who scored 1,045 runs from 16 innings in 2000) has managed more. England, however, have another six Tests scheduled before the end of the year.The relationship between the sides is a lot better than its ever been, Cook said. Both sides have made a conscious effort to talk about the cricket and let the cricket do the talking. We knew they were a good side and 2-2 is probably a fair reflection. The series was played hard, but it was played in good spirits.Moeen has done a fantastic job for us since he came into the side as a batter who bowled a bit. Hes had to share a lot of responsibility to do that as part of a five-man attack.Hes not a Yasir Shah as a spinner and he probably never will be. But he continues to work incredibly hard at it and he picks up vital wickets.Jonny Bairstow has had a great summer. I dont know if he has scored a thousand Test runs this year, but if not, he almost has. And, in these four games, hes kept really well as well. Hes made a really good step forward, and he should be very proud of that.Theres still a hell of a lot of work for him to do, but the way hes batted and contributed to the side, he can be very proud of a good summer. ' ' '