Tampa Bay Rays (45-32) at Minnesota Twins (43-35)
8:10 PM ET on MLBN
FREE Expert MLB Picks
Starting Pitchers
TB: J. Niemann (6-2, 2.72)
MIN: C. Pavano (9-6, 3.33)
After finishing the month of June taking two of three from the Tigers, the AL-Central leading Twins will try and put some more distance between them and their rival when they begin a four game set with the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Target Field.
Justin Morneau homered and drove in two runs as Minnesota improved to 19-10 within the AL Central division, and now holds a 1 1/2 game edge over Detroit with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay who began June with a 2 1/2 -game lead in the AL East and ended it two games behind the New York Yankees and one behind second-place Boston, scored six times in the eighth inning to pull away for a 9-4 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night. The Rays hope their sixth win in 18 games will help them get back on track after an 11-14 June.
The Rays will try to replicate Wednesday’s offensive production behind starting pitcher Jeff Niemann who had a solid outing last Friday night against the Diamondbacks, but was overshadowed by Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter in a 1-0 loss. The right-hander worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just one run off six hits. The lone run of the game came in the second off Adam LaRoche’s solo homer. It was a tough break as he lost his second straight decision after starting the season 6-0. He has given up one run in his only start against Minnesota, lasting 5 2/3 innings in a 7-1 victory on April 27, 2009.
He will be up against veteran hurler Carl Pavano who is coming off his second consecutive complete game, looking to win his fifth straight start. The right-hander has posted a 1.64 ERA during his four-start winning streak. He beat the New York Mets 6-0 on the road Saturday, scattering three hits in his sixth career shutout, which came six days after he threw a four-hitter in a 4-1 win at Philadelphia. It was his second complete game in as many starts. Pavano has gone at least seven innings in nine of his last 10 starts and is 6-4 over that span. He is 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 10 starts against the Rays who are looking to win consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run from June 6-9.
Both clubs are having their own sets of trouble at the plate, with the Rays grabbing just seven runs in three games in Arizona against a pitching staff that ranked last in the majors. They did however turn things around in their final game at Fenway as the Nos. 7-9 hitters — Sean Rodriguez, Kelly Shoppach and Jason Bartlett — drove in seven of the runs the teams nine runs.
Justin Morneau hit his 16th home run on Wednesday—a blistering 441-foot shot to right — knocking his team-best 51st and 52nd runs of the season. Of his 16 homers, only three have come at Target Field.
The odds makers have the Twins as –1-½ – favorites with a run total of 8 ½.
I expect the Twins offense to rally behind another solid outing from Pavano on the mound taking game one and the UNDER.
Click Here for more FREE Expert MLB Picks
Tampa Bay Rays Betting Trends:
- Tampa Bay is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games
- Tampa Bay is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games when playing Minnesota
- Tampa Bay is 4-14 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota Twins Betting Trends:
- Minnesota is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
- Minnesota is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
- Minnesota is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.