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Rays-Twins Preview

Jul 1, 2010 - 5:04 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Editor

Tampa Bay (44-32) at Minnesota (42-35), 8:10 p.m. EDT

After a series win over an AL Central rival strengthened the Minnesota Twins' hold on first place, manager Ron Gardenhire said pitching would be the key to his team's chances of winning the division.

Carl Pavano has given Gardenhire every reason to be confident lately.

Coming off his second consecutive complete game, Pavano looks to win his fifth straight start when the Twins host the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a four-game series Thursday night.

Minnesota (43-35) improved to 19-10 within the Central by taking two of three from Detroit. That success against division foes has helped put the Twins in first place, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tigers and 2 1/2 ahead of Chicago.

Minnesota built on its lead with a 5-1 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, getting six sharp innings from Kevin Slowey.

"If we can just pitch, we'll be fine," Gardenhire said. "So it's all about kind of righting our own ship and not worrying about who you're playing."

Gardenhire has to like his club's chances with Pavano (9-6, 3.33 ERA) taking the mound.

The right-hander has posted a 1.64 ERA during his four-start winning streak. He beat the New York Mets 6-0 on the road Saturday, scattering three hits in his sixth career shutout, which came six days after he threw a four-hitter in a 4-1 win at Philadelphia.

"It's just nice to go out there and contribute," Pavano told the Twins' official website. "To pitch well and go deep into games and feel healthy and feel stronger as the year is going on. That's one difference that I haven't felt in awhile.

"My stuff is getting better as the year is going on. I feel like I'm getting stronger, velocity-wise."

Pavano has gone 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 10 starts against the Rays (45-32), who are looking to win consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run from June 6-9.

Tampa Bay scored six times in the eighth inning to pull away for a 9-4 win over Boston on Wednesday night. The Rays hope their sixth win in 18 games will help them get back on track after an 11-14 June.

"We're keeping our head above water. We're not going away," manager Joe Maddon said. "To go through these tribulations offensively and still be right in the thick of things, I'll take it."

Maddon hopes his team has another strong day at the plate with Jeff Niemann (6-2, 2.72) taking the ball. The right-hander suffered a 1-0 loss to Arizona on Friday as Edwin Jackson pitched the fourth no-hitter in baseball this season.

Niemann allowed six hits and struck out eight over 7 1-3 innings in his second consecutive loss.

He gave up one run in his only start against Minnesota, lasting 5 2-3 innings in a 7-1 victory April 27, 2009.

Niemann could benefit from the return of outfielder B.J. Upton, who was a late-game replacement Tuesday and didn't play Wednesday because of a sore right quadriceps. Maddon says Upton's lack of playing time this week is unrelated to the dugout confrontation he had with teammate Evan Longoria on Sunday.

Upton is 5 for 11 with a home run and a double against Pavano.