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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