Rays at Twins
Runs could be hard to produce on Wednesday, when the first-place Minnesota Twins host the wild card-leading Tampa Bay Rays for the middle contest of their three-game series. Tampa Bay's Charlie Morton leads the American League with a 2.31 ERA and will look to lower it when he opposes Jake Odorizzi, who is third at 2.56 despite having allowed four runs in each of his last two starts.
Minnesota, which owns an 8 1/2-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, continued its assault on opposing pitchers with a 9-4 victory in Tuesday's series opener that increased its major league-leading scoring average to 5.8 runs against baseball's stingiest team in the Rays (3.3). Jorge Polanco carries a 37-game on-base streak into Wednesday's contest but has seen his average drop nine points during his nine-game hitting streak. Tampa Bay, which is 22-12 at Target Field, is 2-6 on a 10-game road trip versus the New York Yankees, Oakland and Minnesota - the only three teams it has a losing record against this season. The Rays, who have seen their AL wild-card lead shrink to two games, are 4-10 in their last 14 contests and have trailed in 13 of them.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Charlie Morton (8-1, 2.31 ERA) vs. Twins RH Jake Odorizzi (10-3, 2.58)
Morton is winless in his last two starts, settling for a no-decision in Minnesota's 5-4 loss at Oakland after allowing one run and four hits with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old native of New Jersey, who has limited opponents to a .118 batting average against his curveball, yielded four runs while striking out nine batters in six frames of a 5-3 setback against the Los Angels Angels on June 15. Nelson Cruz is 8-for-26 with a home run and eight strikeouts against Morton, who is 2-0 with a 4.58 ERA in three starts versus the Twins after permitting two runs and four hits in seven innings of a 14-2 victory on May 30.
Odorizzi was 10-0 with a 1.52 ERA in his previous 11 starts before losing 4-1 at Kansas City on Thursday. The 29-year-old from Illinois was more fortunate in his previous outing - also against the Royals - as he received enough run support in a 5-4 victory June 15. Mike Zunino is 0-for-13 with six strikeouts against Odorizzi, who is 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts against his former club after allowing three hits with nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings of a 9-7 victory on June 2 at Tropicana Field.
WALK-OFFS
1. Minnesota LF Eddie Rosario is batting .392 with seven doubles, five home runs and 20 RBIs in 26 games against the Rays after going 4-for-5 with two RBIs on Tuesday.
2. Tampa Bay RHP Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 1.86 ERA), who is on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm strain, will be shut down for 3-to-4 weeks, according to MGR Kevin Cash, after experiencing discomfort while throwing from 90 feet.
3. The Twins lead the majors with 149 home runs after belting two on Tuesday, including one by 2B Jonathan Schoop that gave him 17 shots and 42 RBIs against the Rays - both his highest amount against any opponent.