The Minnesota Twins have not had a great deal of success against the Tampa Bay Rays this season, and they will need to reverse that trend if they want to move further up the standings in the American League Central. Those two teams will begin a three-game series on Monday afternoon at Target Field.
The Twins have played the Rays seven times this season, with Tampa winning six out of those seven games. The Rays won three out of four at Tropicana Field from April 14 to April 17, and then came into Target Field and swept the Twins in a three-game set on April 27 and 28 (a doubleheader was played on the 28th as a result of a rain out on the 26th). Dating back to last season, the Rays have won five in a row at Target Field.
Tampa Bay will give the ball to All-Star left-hander David Price (8-6, 3.43 ERA) to begin the series. Price has not pitched against the Twins in either series the two teams have played this season. In his last start, he allowed two runs on six hits in 7.2 innings as the Rays defeated the Cincinnati Reds in interleague action by a score of 4-3.
Minnesota will counter with left-hander Brian Duensing (5-7, 4.69 ERA). Duensing has the Twins' lone victory over the Rays this season, as back on April 17 he allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings pitched as the Twins defeated the Rays, 4-2. He wasn't great in his last start on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing four runs on four hits in five innings pitched, but it was good enough for a victory as the Twins defeated the Dodgers 6-4.
First pitch from Target Field is scheduled for 1:10 PM Central time. If you're going to be hanging around the internet while the game is on, you can check out Twinkie Town for their Game Thread, and we will recap all of the action here for you when everything is done with.