Tonight at 8:10 p.m. ET, the Tampa Bay Rays (44-53) and Minnesota Twins (44-50) kick off the second half with the opening contest of a three-game series live from Target Field in Minnesota. The game can be live streamed for free here. Tampa Bay fans can hear all of the action on WDAE 620 while Minnesota fans can do the same on K-Twin 96.3.
The Rays open up the second half with a five-game road trip that also features a stop in St. Louis while the Twins open up a 10-game homestand after Target Field played host to the 2014 All-Star Game that the American League took from the National League 5-3 on Tuesday.
Alex Cobb (4-6, 4.14 ERA) toes the rubber for Tampa Bay while Minnesota counters with Kyle Gibson, who is 8-7 with a 3.92 ERA.
The Rays enter the game in fourth place in the American League East and are 9.5 games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles. If Tampa Bay's skipper's words are any indication, the team will be excited to play at Target Field.
"They nailed that ballpark. I love that ballpark," Rays manager Joe Maddon said per MLB.com "We like going up there to play. But in the aftermath of the All-Star Game, there should be kind of an exciting vibe going on with the city, and it's a great city."
The Twins enter play in last place in the American League Central, 10.5 games behind the first place Detroit Tigers. The team will look to avoid the streakiness that plagued it in the first half.
"Pitching and offensively, we've been too streaky and that's why you end up with those losing streaks of four, five or six games," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told MLB.com. "You've got to stay away from those things, be a little more consistent, figure out a way to win series. We've been too streaky."
Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is hitting .245 with six homers and 42 RBI and ranks third in the league with 27 doubles. Catcher Kurt Suzuki leads Minnesota in batting average (.309) while second baseman Brian Dozier has a team-best 18 homers and 45 RBI.
Rays first baseman James Loney paces the team in batting average (.275) and is tied with third baseman Evan Longoria for the team lead in RBI (44). Longoria leads Tampa Bay with 11 homers.
The Rays and Twins open up the second half when they clash tonight at Target Field in Minnesota.
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