Minnesota @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2024 ) Minnesota 1, Tampa Bay 2
The Tampa Bay Rays broke a two-game losing streak Tuesday night and evened their series with the Minnesota Twins.
Maybe more important at this point in their frustrating season, they might have caught a glimpse of what 2025 could offer behind the plate.
Tampa Bay (68-70) and Minnesota (75-63) will meet Wednesday in the third contest of the four-game set in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rays hold a 3-2 edge in the season series vs. the Twins, and all five matchups were decided by one run.
Top Tampa Bay catching prospect Logan Driscoll provided the heroics on Tuesday in his major league debut. He drove home what proved to be the winning run with a fourth-inning single as Tampa Bay moved to 2-3 on its seven-game homestand and 36-37 overall at home.
Driscoll, 26, was promoted from Triple-A as a September call-up. In 70 games for Durham, the left-handed hitter batted .292 with seven homers and 37 RBIs.
"I just had to stick to the approach that we kind of talked about as a team," Driscoll said. "I was lucky enough to stick to that plan and get just enough to get that run in."
He may provide catching depth next season, especially with the bat. This season, the Rays have relied primarily on left-handed-hitting Ben Rortvedt (.239 batting average, .331 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage) and right-handed-hitting Alex Jackson (.122/.201/.237).
Thanks in part to Driscoll, Tampa Bay improved to 26-16 in one-run games.
For the second consecutive evening in the dome, Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli praised the work of his bullpen, but the Twins' 0-for-5 showing with runners in scoring position was ultimately their downfall.
Carlos Santana stroked his 19th homer leading off the second inning in a two-hit night, and the Twins' six hits matched the Rays' total in a poor night for offense.
"Early on, we had some chances. We didn't have too many, but we had a couple early on and we didn't get them," the Minnesota skipper said.
Twins relievers Caleb Thielbar, Michael Tonkin and Diego Castillo kept the Rays scoreless for three innings, yielding a total of one hit.
"All of them pitched well, really," Baldelli said. "They held it together well and gave us a chance to score. If we were just able to muster something, just anything and get back in the game, we'd be talking about this with rave reviews about our bullpen."
Minnesota fell to 21-17 in one-run games.
For the Wednesday game, each club will send out an opener, Ronny Henriquez (1-0, 2.45 ERA) for the Twins, Cole Sulser (0-0, 5.40) for Tampa Bay.
Louie Varland (0-5, 6.14 ERA) is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Saint Paul to handle the bulk work for Minnesota. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 7.56 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Rays.
Tampa Bay will counter with left-hander Tyler Alexander (5-4, 5.48 ERA) as the bulk pitcher. He is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA against the Twins in 12 career outings, including six starts.
--Field Level Media