Gameday Preview: Corey Kluber Starts For Rays in Series Opener vs. Twins; Lineups, Pregame Chatter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Minnesota Twins are in town for a weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays, so it's a homecoming of sorts for several Twins.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli is an all-time Rays favorite, having played here for six years and coaching on Kevin Cash's staff for four more before being hired to manage the Twins prior to the 2019 season. He's already won two American League Central titles (2019, 2020).
Two other former Rays are on the Twins roster, starter Chris Archer — who starts Saturday night against Shane McClanahan — and reliever Elimio Pagan.
It's the first Friday night home game this season with a later start. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET. The Rays have won three series in a row, but the Twins are red-hot, winning seven straight to grab the AL Central lead.
Corey Kluber gets the start for the Rays. This will be his fourth start. He's been solid, with an 0-1 record and a 3.68 earned run average. He gave up 11 hits in his last start, but the results were worse than the execution, he said.
“There were a lot of balls there that really weren’t bad pitches,'' Kluber said "The box score probably doesn’t tell the whole story. After I looked at pitch execution, that supports it. You have to separate the two, between execution and results. I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in results good or bad,
Kluber has always been a steady performer with a calm demeanor. That works for him.
“Everybody is wired differently. Over time, that’s what works best for me,'' he said. "I just try to control the things I can control, which is staying in a good mind frame and executing my pitches.''
There is good news on the injury front for the Rays. Catcher Mike Zunino, who missed the past two games with a left biceps injury, is back in the starting lineup.
Here's how to watch Friday's game, with gametime, lineups, bios and the usual great newsy nuggets.
How to watch Twins at Rays
- Who: Minnesota Twins (11-8) at Tampa Bay Rays (11-8)
- When: 7:10 p.m. ET, Friday, April 29
- Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- TV: Bally Sports Sun
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (in-game reporter).
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 181
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest Line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-133 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Friday afternoon. The Twins are plus-110. The over/under is 7.5.
Rays-Twins history
- Rays vs. Mariners all-time series history: Tampa Bay holds an 85-83 lead in the overall series dating back to 1998, and the Rays are 44-37 at Tropicana Field. They split the season series 3-3 a year ago, with each teams winning two of three games at home. They did not play in 2020, and have never met in the postseason.
Rays-Twins most recent games
- Rays 2, Mariners 1: Tampa Bay won its series against Seattle with an impressive 2-1 win on Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Outfielder Brett Phillips drove in both runs for the Rays, tying the game in the second with a single, and driving in the winning run in the seventh. The Rays, on an ''opener'' used six pitchers and allowed just one first-inning run and six total hits. To read the complete game story, CLICK HERE
- Twins 7, Tigers 1: Carlos Correa had three hits and three RBIs, snapping out of his slump with a big day in a 7-1 Twins victory over the Detroit Tigers, sweeping the three-game series. The Twins had a perfect homestand after sweeping three games prior to the that against the Chicago White Sox.
Projected starting pitchers
- Twins right-hander Dylan Bundy: Dylan Bundy is making his fourth start for the Twins, and he's been spectacular so far, allowing just one earned one for a nifty 0.54 earned run average. He's 3-0, with wins over Seattle, Boston and the Chicago White Sox. Bundy is in his first season with Minnesota after spending two years with the Los Angeles Angels and five seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. He has a career record of 49-57, with a 4.64 ERA, so that makes his start this season even more surprising.
- Rays right-hander Corey Kluber: Corey Kluber gave up four runs and 11 hits against Boston last Friday, taking the loss. He's 0-1 on the season with a 3.63 earned run average. He got some extra rest prior to this start. This is Kluber's 12th season in the big leagues, and his first with the Rays. Kluber has started 23 games against the Twins in his career, and he's 9-7 with a 3.40 ERA.
Projected lineups
- Twins lineup: Byron Buxton DH, Luis Arraez 1B, Carlos Correa SS, Jorge Polanco 2B, Max Kepler RF, Gio Urshela 3B, Trevor Larnach LF, Gary Sanchez C, Nick Gordon CF, Dylan Bundy P.
- Rays lineup: Brandon Lowe 2B, Wander Franco SS, Yandy Diaz 1B, Josh Lowe DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Kevin Kiermaier CF, Mike Zunino C, Brett Phillips RF, Taylor Walls 3B, Corey Kluber P.
Newsy nuggets
- Nugget No. 1: Corey Kluber has had an impressive career in the big leagues. The Rays starter ranks fifth among all active starters with more than 1,000 innings pitched, with a 3.20 ERA. Only Clayton Kershaw (2.49), Jacob deGrom (2,50), Chris Sale (3.03) and Max Scherzer (3.14) are ahead of him.
- Nugget No. 2: The Rays have been playing well of late, winning 4-of-5 games and 6-of-8. They've won three series in a row, going 2-1 against the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.
- Nugget No. 3: The Rays have a 3.09 ERA this season, seventh-best in the majors and third-best in the American League. They have a 1.95 ERA in their last seven games and a 2.47 ERA over their last 12 games. The Rays have yielded two earned runs or fewer in five straight games, their longest streak since March 29-April 5, 2019. The Rays have yielded three runs or fewer 11 times this season, tied for third in the American League behind the New York Yankees (12) and Toronto Blue Jays (12).
- Nugget No. 4: Even though the Rays' bats have been quiet lately, they are still No. 6 in the AL in runs scored (80) and are sixth with average runs scored (4.21)
