Tampa Bay @ Minnesota preview
Target Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 4
Three months into the season, Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the American League.
He'll have a chance to bolster his resume Friday night against one of the toughest hosts in the AL.
Price looks for his league-leading 12th victory of the season as the Tampa Bay Rays resume their four-game series against the Twins at Target Field. Tampa Bay won a topsy-turvy opener Thursday, scoring a run in the top of the 10th inning to shade Minnesota 5-4.
Though the Cy Young Award isn't voted on for another 4 1/2 months, Price (11-3) is definitely one of the contenders as the season nears its halfway mark. He tops the American League in wins and ERA (2.44), sits in the top 15 in strikeouts and hasn't lost back-to-back starts all year.
He was at his filthiest in his previous outing, striking out 11 Arizona batters over eight strong innings in Tampa Bay's 5-3 triumph over the Diamondbacks. He surrendered just two runs on seven hits in that start, improving his home mark to 5-1 this season.
The 11 strikeouts against Arizona matched his career best, originally established May 30, 2009, in a 5-2 win over the Twins. Price is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA all-time against Minnesota, with 13 strikeouts in 6 1/3 career innings.
The Rays have begun to turn things around after a dreadful June dropped them out of the top spot in the ultra-tough AL East. Tampa Bay has won two straight to remain just two games back of the Yankees, with the Boston Red Sox in between, 1 1/2 games behind the Bronx Bombers.
The Twins, just 3-7 in their last 10 games, send Scott Baker (6-7) to the mound. Since tossing a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts against Colorado two weeks ago, the veteran right-hander has lost a pair of starts and didn't look good in either one.
He was awful in his previous outing, surrendering six runs on 11 hits in just 4 1/3 innings as the Twins were thumped 6-0 by the New York Mets. It dropped him to 1-5 with a 6.55 ERA away from Minnesota, compared to a 5-2 record and a 3.55 ERA at Target Field.
Baker has made three starts in his career against the Rays, owning a 1-2 record with a 5.30 ERA all-time. He was the losing pitcher the last time he faced Tampa Bay, giving up four runs over 5 2/3 innings of a 5-3 defeat.
Lost in the Twins' recent struggles is the continued resurgence of outfielder Delmon Young. The former first overall pick is enjoying a solid bounce-back season, belting his ninth home run in Friday's loss while increasing his RBI total to 53, just seven less than he had all of last season. He has driven in 10 runs over his last 10 games.