Minnesota Twins: Previewing the Weekend Series with the Rays

The Minnesota Twins have started off their season well, going 11-8 and are in the midst of a seven game winning streak. The pitching has been tremendous, the defense has been solid, and the team’s bats are finally starting to come around. With that being said, there are concerns.

For starters, the Twins have struggled against good teams. The Twins started off the season with six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners, two teams that have combined to start 23-14 this year. The Twins went 2-4 in those games, which is disappointing.

In addition, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Caleb Thielbar, Miguel Sano, and Ryan Jeffers have all been sluggish to start the year. With those guys struggling, the offense has disappointed right away.

The Minnesota Twins have a big series coming up this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays.

A chance to help quash these concerns comes this weekend, with the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend. Why is this a good opportunity? For starters, the Rays are a true contender that’s one of the deepest teams in baseball. If the Twins can get it going against them, they can compete against anybody.

At 11-8, the Rays are third in their division but sit as the third wild card in a packed American League East. That might not seem like much, but they’ve faced one of the toughest schedules in baseball thus far. Their games against the Twins are big for them too, so we break down the series ahead, starting with the pitching matchups.

Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays Pitching Matchups

• Dylan Bundy vs. Corey Kluber (4/29)
• Chris Archer vs. Shane McClanahan (4/30)
• Chris Paddack vs. Josh Fleming (4/31)

The Rays technically don’t have any starters officially listed past Corey Kluber tonight, so even if these guys aren’t the starters, they’ll be the bulk pitchers over the weekend. The Rays have the edge in arms, but it’s not by much.

Kluber has been solid in a bounceback year, but he’s been hit hard and doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, but what Dylan Bundy has done this year has been amazing to watch. If he can keep it going, the Twins have the better pitcher in Game One.

Shane McClanahan is the best pitcher on either team, starting off the year with a 2.45 ERA (2.25 FIP) and is striking out batters at a 12.7 K/9 clip while owning a 31-5 K-BB ratio. He lines up against the starter who has been the worst in the Twins rotation in Chris Archer. If Archer can’t be stellar in his return to Tampa Bay, that will be the toughest for the Twins to win.

The rubber match of the series sees Josh Fleming and Chris Paddack, both guys who have had mixed results as starters. Paddack is slightly more talented, but again, pitching will be key for this series.

Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays Key Hitters

For the hitters in this series, there are some key superstars on both sides, and both teams have been a little cold as a hole, with the Twins heating up a lot more recently while the Rays are staying consistent.

In Tampa Bay, everything starts with superstar Wander Franco. He’s been as good as advertised both offensively and defensively and is a clutch hitter when the team has needed it. He’s joined by Ji-Man Choi, who has been stellar to start the year with a 1.086 OPS. Harold Ramirez and Yandy Diaz have also been solid.

In Minnesota, Byron Buxton has been one of the Top 5 players in baseball to start the year, with Luis Arraez and a resurgent Max Kepler standing out as good co-stars to start the year. For both teams, the key to winning may be in their other hitters.

Despite slow starts, Randy Arozorena and Carlos Correa are two key players who will look to get going this series and could help key the offense for their teams, even if pitching and defense will be the key in this series.