The Minnesota Twins look to break a six-game pattern of alternating between wins and loss when they try for their second consecutive win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday evening.
The Twins opened up the weekend series with the Rays on Friday night with a 5-4 win as closer Matt Capps saved his fourth game making him 4-for-4 in save opportunities in the early season for the Twins. Joe Mauer has been finding his groove at the plate for Minnesota and will take a five-game hitting streak into Saturday's action after knocking in two runs in the win on Friday.
Minnesota will need all of the offense they can muster against Tampa Bay starter James Shields. The right-hander is 2-0 after a shaky no decision to start the season. Shields pitched at least eight innings in his last two starts and only given up a combined two runs in both games.
Minnesota will counter with veteran right-hander Carl Pavano on the hill. Pavano is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA but is coming off a nice win over his former team, the New York Yankees in which he pitched seven innings to earn the win.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North.
For more on the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. More on the Tampa Bay Rays can be found at DRaysBay. More news and info on Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.