The Twins pitched well, but couldn't deliver the big hit when needed Tuesday night in a 2-1 loss to Tampa. Jeffrey Springs pitched a season-high six innings and Logan Driscoll hit a run-scoring single in his big league debut.
Springs (2-2) permitted one run and four hits in his seventh start since returning from elbow surgery. The left-hander struck out four and walked two. Driscoll put the Rays up 2-1 with his hit during a two-run fourth against David Festa (2-5), coming on his second at-bat.
Festa did enough to get the win but the Twins couldn't deliver enough offense in the loss.
"I thought I did a good job, I'm really happy with how I seem to pitch with runners on base," Festa said after the game. "It seemed like every inning, maybe four of the five, I don't know exactly, but it seemed like the leadoff guy got on and I thought I did a pretty good job of kind of keeping my composure and not letting it kind of snowball. Obviously, that one inning I need to do a better job of, you know, not walking the second guy of the inning and then ty to minimize the damage a little better.
Carlos Santana homered for the Twins, who hold the second AL wild card and are now 4.5 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central after splitting the first two of four in Tampa.
But Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli was focused on his young pitcher after the game.
"Festa I thought pitched very well," Baldelli says. "There were some guys on early in some of the innings, but the way he threw the ball I think gave us a lot. It gave us a lot. It gave us everything we needed to potentially win the game. He missed some bats, I thought the stuff looked good and he was able to ramp it up when he needed it a few times. It's just a good outing for him."
PREVIEW
Minnesota Twins (75-63, second in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (68-70, fourth in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Wednesday, 5:50 p.m. Pregame 5:00 on WCCO Radio and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Ronny Henriquez (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 10 strikeouts); Rays: Cole Sulser (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Twins -115, Rays -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays host the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Tampa Bay has a 36-37 record in home games and a 68-70 record overall. The Rays have the seventh-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.96.
Minnesota has a 75-63 record overall and a 36-33 record on the road. The Twins have a 53-22 record in games when they record eight or more hits.
The matchup Wednesday is the sixth meeting between these teams this season. The Rays hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yandy Diaz has 26 doubles, a triple and 12 home runs for the Rays. Josh Lowe is 13-for-36 with a double, a triple and two home runs over the last 10 games.
Ryan Jeffers leads the Twins with 20 home runs while slugging .463. Matt Wallner is 10-for-36 with three doubles, two home runs and three RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 4-6, .233 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored by 10 runs
Twins: 4-6, .228 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored by 17 runs
INJURIES: Rays: Colin Poche: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Peter Anderson Fairbanks: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Richard Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Jacob Waguespack: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (forearm)
Twins: Max Kepler: day-to-day (knee), Manuel Margot: 10-Day IL (groin), Chris Paddack: 60-Day IL (forearm), Joe Ryan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (hip), Brock Stewart: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Kirilloff: 60-Day IL (back), Kody Funderburk: 15-Day IL (oblique), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (foot), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)