Twins Vs. Rays Final Score: Minnesota Falls In 10 Innings In Series Finale, 7-3

Left-hander Scott Diamond and the Minnesota Twins could not avoid another loss against Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon at Target Field, as a big 10th inning helped the Rays pull off the three-game series sweep with a 7-3 win.

Diamond was bested by a pair of solo home runs in the first two innings by Desmond Jennings and Jeff Keppinger, and settled down before yielding a game-tying RBI double to Sean Rodriguez in the fifth that knotted the score at three apiece.

The two teams played even ball until the top of the tenth, whereby Twins reliever Alex Burnett walked a pair of batters and allowed three runs to cross the plate before he could retire the side. In addition to leaving 10 runners on base in the loss, Minnesota picked up a bit of potentially awful news as outfielder Denard Span left the game in the seventh inning with an apparent shoulder injury.

Hopeful to return the services of third baseman Trevor Plouffe, currently in Triple-A on a rehab assignment, on Monday to open up tricky three-game set with the Detroit Tigers, the Twins will send undefeated starter Samuel Deduno to the hill looking to break the losing streak.

Head over to Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and be sure to check out DRays Bay for more on the Rays. Visit Baseball Nation for even more MLB news and analysis.

Twins Vs. Rays: Minnesota Turns To Scott Diamond Looking To Avoid Sweep

Scott Diamond, who leads the Minnesota Twins with 12 quality starts this season, takes the mound Sunday looking to halt Tampa's winning streak at five and help Minnesota avoid a three-game home sweep.

Diamond (10-5, 2.91 ERA) scattered seven hits and two earned runs across seven strong innings his last time out to win his tenth game Monday, and he's gone seven innings or more in three straight starts.

Tampa's hitters, thanks in part to Evan Longoria's return, have been swinging hot bats. James Shields (10-7, 4.08 ERA) goes for the Rays, and he's pitched well of late, too. Shields went eight innings in his last outing, allowing just three baserunners and one run on six strikeouts to earn his second consecutive victory.

Twins outfielder Denard Span, who sat Saturday out to avoid Rays lefty David Price, should be back in the lineup Sunday.

First pitch is set for 1:10 pm CT from Target Field.

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Twins Vs. Rays Final Score: Minnesota Shut Down By David Price In 4-2 Loss

The Minnesota Twins could not overcome a three-run first inning by the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, and fell for the third consecutive game in a 4-2 loss.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn was tagged right away on back-to-back home runs from B.J. Upton and Matt Joyce in the top of the first inning that put the game at 3-0. Although he settled down to only give up one earned run, another homer to B.J. Upton, over his next five innings, Blackburn's poor start to the day proved to be too much for his offense to overcome.

After having his 21-game hit streak snapped earlier in the week, Twins leadoff hitter Ben Revere finished 0-for-4 and did not reach base. A solo home run from the bat of shortstop Brian Dozier in the fifth inning cut the Tampa Bay lead to 4-2 and provided a brief spark, but four straight scoreless frames pitched by Rays starter David Price and his bullpen kept the Twins at bay.

Hoping to buck the trend and avoid a sweep on Sunday, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will look to left-hander Scott Diamond in the third and final game of the series.

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Rays Vs. Twins: Blackburn, Minnesota Try To Halt Losing

The Minnesota Twins (49-63) resume their three-game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays (60-52) on Saturday evening at Target Field after the Rays opened the series with a 12-6 win on Friday.

The Twins will try to halt their current losing streak at two with projected starter Nick Blackburn (4-7, 7.42 ERA) scheduled to take the mound. The right-hander has struggled with consistency throughout the season, coming off of a loss to Boston earlier in the week. Blackburn is 0-3 with three no decisions in his last six starts for the Twins.

Adding to the challenge for Minnesota will be Tampa Bay's ace David Price (14-4, 2.71 ERA), slated to start the game for the Rays. Price is coming off of a no decision to Baltimore in his last start but he gave up just two hits and no runs in eight innings of the Rays' 1-0 loss.

The game is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

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Rays Vs. Twins: Minnesota Falls 12-6 To Visiting Tampa Bay

The Minnesota Twins fell behind 8-1 after just two innings on Friday night, and were unable to recover in a 12-6 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Minnesota starter Cole De Vries was rocked, allowing seven earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings of work. His replacement on the mound, Jeff Manship, did not fare much better, allowing four more Tampa Bay runners to score in his four innings of work.

At the plate, Joe Mauer pushed his average to .320 with a three for four night, and Ryan Doumit hit his 13th home run of the season.

The two teams will square off again on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EST from Target Field, with Minnesota's Nick Blackburn slated to face Tampa Bay ace David Price.

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Twins Vs. Rays: Starting Lineups For Friday's Opener

Looking to continue their strong two-week push to turn their once-dismal season around, the Minnesota Twins will take on a playoff-caliber Tampa Bay Rays team on Friday to kick off a three-game series at Target Field.

Receiving the ball in game one for the Twins is right-handed starter Cole De Vries, who put forth an impressive performance last time out against the Boston Red Sox by allowing just four hits through seven innings. Despite his strong play as of late, De Vries has yet to win a game in the second half of the season, with his most recent victory coming all the way back on June 30th.

Set to face Tampa Bay aces David Price and James Shields in games two and three, the Twins will hope to jump on left-handed starter Jeremy Hellickson early on to kick off the series on a high note. Although he sports an impressive 3.43 earned-run average on the year, the 25-year-old prospect has yet to last through seven innings in a game since May and looks as beatable as ever at the moment.

Here are Friday's starting lineups:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - DH
7. Alexi Casilla - 2B
8. Brian Dozier - SS
9. Jamey Carroll - 3B
Cole De Vries - SP

Rays
1. Desmond Jennings - LF
2. B.J. Upton - CF
3. Matt Joyce - RF
4. Evan Longoria - DH
5. Ben Zobrist - SS
6. Carlos Pena - 1B
7. Jeff Keppinger - 3B
8. Ryan Roberts - 2B
9. Jose Molina - C
Jeremy Hellickson - SP

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Twins Vs. Rays: Minnesota Opens 3-Game Set Friday Night

The Minnesota Twins will begin a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.