Tampa Bay @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 10, Minnesota 3

Jeff Niemann has seen back-to-back quality starts go to waste, and there's a good chance he'll need to be even better Thursday to earn his elusive seventh win of the season.

Niemann looks to end a personal two-game losing streak as he leads the Tampa Bay Rays into the opener of a four-game series against the host Minnesota Twins at Target Field. It's a pivotal series for both teams, with the Rays just two games back of the New York Yankees in the American League East race and the Twins leading the Detroit Tigers by 1 1/2 games in the AL Central.

The Rays struggled in June, going just 11-14 to drop out of top spot in the AL East. They're coming off an impressive 9-4 drubbing of Boston on Wednesday night, a victory that allowed them to earn a split of their two-game series with the second-place Red Sox.

At first glance, it would appear that Tampa Bay is in good shape to fashion a winning streak with Niemann (6-2) on the mound. The tall right-hander has been one of the Rays' top pitchers to date, sporting an impressive 2.72 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .218 batting average on the season.

But Niemann is going through his worst stretch of the season, having gone just 0-2 over his previous three starts. To his credit, his last two starts have been strong, having allowed just three runs on 10 hits over his previous 13 1/3 innings. Yet, he has a loss and a no-decision over that span.

There wasn't anything he could do to win his last outing. Niemann surrendered a lone run on six hits in 7 1/3 solid innings but still lost 1-0 to Arizona, as Edwin Jackson tossed the second no-hitter in Diamondbacks history. It made the Rays the first team to be no-hit twice in a season since 2001, as they were also on the wrong end of Oakland Athletics left-hander Dallas Braden's perfect game back in May.

Niemann has made just one career start against the Twins, but it was a good one. The 27-year-old held Minnesota to a run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings as Tampa Bay beat the Twins 7-1 back on April 27, 2009.

Victory won't come easily for Tampa Bay, as they'll face Twins veteran Carl Pavano (9-6). The 34-year-old right-hander has won his last four starts, topped by a complete-game three-hitter last time out as Minnesota blanked the New York Mets 6-0. It was the second straight complete-game victory for Pavano, and the sixth shutout of his career.

Pavano has fared well against Tampa Bay, owning a 5-3 head-to-head record with a 3.73 ERA in 10 starts all-time. He was sensational in his last meeting with the Rays, limiting them to a run over seven innings of a 5-1 Minnesota win on May 26, 2009.

He'll lead a Twins team that maintained a little breathing room in the crowded Central standings by taking two out of three games from the visiting Tigers. Justin Morneau homered and drove in a pair of runs as Minnesota won the rubber match 5-1 Wednesday night.