HOUSTON -- As the second inning drew to a close and Michael Pineda already neared 50 pitches, it looked like things were shaping up to be another long night for a bullpen that had already seen plenty of action in the first two games of the series.

But this is the ever-consistent Big Mike we’re talking about -- so naturally, he settled down, stifled one of the game’s elite offenses on the road, and navigated six effective innings anyway, finally giving the relief corps a needed breather. Despite Pineda’s effort, the offense ran into the buzzsaw of standout Astros rookie Luis Garcia, who headlined a shutout effort in a 4-0 Twins loss at Minute Maid Park on Saturday night.

“Same story every time Mike pitches, it seems like,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He came out here today, faced some good hitters. Pitched really well, again. Got us past the middle of the game. Even with having to deal with things, he still finds ways to complete innings, limit damage.”

The results of these games no longer carry as much weight in the big picture for the Twins following their sale at last week’s Trade Deadline. But as Minnesota cobbles together a young rotation and relatively untested bullpen for a stretch run evaluation and development of its roster, there’s still plenty to be said for the ability of a consistent veteran like Pineda to eat effective innings to help out his teammates when needed -- as he did in this start.

In this case, that came down to the fact that the Twins used five relievers in Thursday’s series opener and six in Friday’s 11-inning affair. The entire high-leverage core -- Tyler Duffey, Jorge Alcala and Alex Colomé -- had been used in both games, as was Danny Coulombe. All four were likely unavailable on Saturday, leaving only John Gant, Caleb Thielbar, Beau Burrows and Juan Minaya.

“I know we've been using a lot of the bullpen, so today, I really wanted to work deep in the game and try to pitch some good innings and give us the opportunity to win, and at the same time, help the bullpen because we've had a really long road trip," Pineda said.

Pineda allowed four singles, including an RBI infield knock to Chas McCormick, as he navigated a 25-pitch first inning and a 22-pitch second, but a clean third inning steered him back on track as he leaned more heavily on his slider in the middle innings to gut out a season-high 102 pitches. A Yordan Alvarez solo homer in the fourth did the only other damage against the right-hander.

Thanks to Pineda’s effort, the Twins only needed Gant and Thielbar out of the bullpen to finish the game, largely resetting the relief arms ahead of another stretch of four games before the club’s next off-day.

“When we’ve tested Mike, he always seems to come through and give us a chance,” Baldelli said.

Though Thielbar allowed two more Houston insurance runs in the eighth inning, they were rather inconsequential at that point, as the 24-year-old Garcia held the Twins without a baserunner through three frames and gave up only a pair of doubles to Brent Rooker and Ryan Jeffers before he exited following six shutout frames.

The Astros’ relievers were similarly impressive to close out the game -- but the Twins had an encouraging answer in Gant, the newly acquired right-hander who pitched a scoreless seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts to continue his run of seemingly improved control since his arrival from St. Louis last Friday in the trade that put J.A. Happ in a Cardinals uniform.

Gant allowed a leadoff single to McCormick before he struck out Jason Castro and Taylor Jones as part of the effective frame, giving him seven strikeouts and one walk in 4 2/3 frames for the Twins. It’s a small sample size to be sure, but it’s an encouraging development from his 56 strikeouts and 56 walks in 76 1/3 frames earlier this season in St. Louis -- especially considering Gant will remain under club control next season.

Perhaps Gant would have been needed to stretch out for more innings without Pineda gutting out that extra inning, putting him in less of a position to build on his continued effective start with his new club.

That’s the kind of little difference Pineda’s consistency makes -- and his continued presence on the roster can pay off in that way through the end of the season as the Twins test out their youth elsewhere in the rotation.

“I know right now, we have a really young rotation, but it's a really good group and I think those guys are really good,” Pineda said. “For me, personally, every time that I go to the mound, I want to work deep in the game. That's my goal every time I go to the mound."