In the second of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (20-16) and the Tampa Bay Rays (20-16) at Target Field, Trevor May (2-3, 5.40 ERA) and Alex Colome (2-1, 5.62 ERA) get the ball. The Twins won the last game 3-2 and Minnesota leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 16 and will air on SunSports and FSN-N.
In his most recent outing, May pitched 4.0 innings, allowing six runs, striking out four and walking three in an 8-2 loss to the Indians. Torii Hunter (.280, 20 Rs, 6 HRs, 21 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 4 yesterday. The Rays were unsuccessful to the Yankees 11-5 the last time Colome pitched. He went 6.0 innings, allowing eight runs, striking out six and walking one. David DeJesus (.301, 11 Rs, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI.
Minnesota is a slight -112 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at eight runs. The Twins have a winning record of 4-2 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +707. They are 6-4 SU and perfect as the favorite (2-0) in their last 10 games.
Moving on to the away team, the Rays come into this game with a win percentage of .579 when playing as the underdog (11-8) and an overall money line of +396. They have the lowest ERA in the AL at 3.41. They have a WHIP of 1.14 on the year, good for second in the league. The Tampa Bay pitching staff has been an intimidating group this year, averaging 8.6 strikeouts per game.
So far this season, the Twins are 1-0 against the Rays. The Twins will take on a right-hander (Colome) in this game and have an 8-11 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Rays will be the right-hander May. They sport a 16-10 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – TB, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Tampa Bay is 7-7, while Minnesota is 4-6.
The Twins are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Rays have a 1-5 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Twins are 3-15. The Rays have a 3-12 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 23rd in home runs, Minnesota has hit 26 this season. Tampa Bay ranks 11th with 34 home runs.
Ranking 13th, Tampa Bay is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.78 per game. Minnesota ranks in the top five at fifth with 8.83.
Minnesota and Tampa Bay both rank near the bottom of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. Minnesota sits at 21st with an OPS of .697 and Tampa Bay ranks 22nd with an OPS of .690.
The Rays are 9-11 when they allow at least one home run. The Twins perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 10-13 record.
