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Rays, Twins play two at Target Field

Apr 28, 2011 - 3:02 PM (Sports Network) - Victories in six of their last eight games finally have the Tampa Bay Rays above the .500 mark. They'll try to further distance themselves above the even point today with a day/night doubleheader versus the Minnesota Twins to wrap a three-game series at Target Field.

Poor weather led to Tuesday's postponement and the Rays and Twins finally got their series underway on Wednesday. Minnesota may have preferred to wait another day as it was handed an 8-2 defeat.

Johnny Damon extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games, batting .328 (19-for-58) on the run with four homers and 19 RBI, while Ben Zobrist drove in three runs in the Rays' third straight victory. They are now 12-5 since losing their first six games of the season and have won four of five versus the Twins so far in 2011.

Starter Wade Davis got the win, giving up the two runs over 6 2/3 innings, leaving Twins outfielder Denard Span impressed.

"He did what he was supposed to do," Span said. "He threw strikes and we fell behind early. In conditions like this, it's hard to throw. A pitcher needs to throw strikes and that's what he did."

Alexi Casilla and Jason Kubel each drove in a run for the Twins, who had a three-game winning streak halted. Francisco Liriano was rocked for seven runs on six hits in just three-plus innings.

Twins slugger Jim Thome was not available for last night's game due to a strained oblique, while outfielder Delmon Young was placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to the game because of sore ribs.

Kubel helped pick up the slack on Wednesday and is batting .438 (14-for-32) with a pair of homers and eight RBI over a nine-game hitting streak. He has posted three multi-hit games in a row.

The Twins will hope Nick Blackburn can snap a three-start skid in the first game after he allowed five runs for a second start in a row last Wednesday in Baltimore. Blackburn pitched seven innings and yielded a pair of homers to fall to 1-3 with a 4.01 earned run average.

The 29-year-old righty also gave up five runs on 10 hits over six innings of a setback to the Rays on April 15, falling to 2-3 with a 6.41 ERA lifetime versus Tampa Bay.

Damon and Kelly Shoppach both drove in two runs off Blackburn in that game and the Rays duo have good career numbers against the hurler. Damon is hitting .320 (8-for-25) lifetime against Blackburn with two homers and eight RBI, while Shoppach is batting .533 (8-for-15) with three homers and four RBI.

Minnesota recalled Anthony Swarzak from Triple-A Rochester to make a spot start in Game 2 and he will pitch in the majors for the first time since going 3-7 with a 6.25 ERA in 12 starts in 2009. None of those outings came against the Rays and the 25-year-old righty is 1-1 with a 4.87 ERA in four starts at Triple-A this season.

A second-round pick in 2004, Swarzak will be pitching tonight on just three days' rest.

"It was better suited for Swarzak than our other options," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told his team's official website. "We had to have somebody for the second game or for Saturday, so instead of doing something silly we just wanted the second game to be one our callups."

Taking the hill for the Rays in the first game will be 24-year-old Jeremy Hellickson, who is 1-2 through four starts with a 4.32 ERA. He did not factor into the decision of his last start on Friday in Toronto, giving up three runs on six hits while pitching seven innings for a second straight outing.

The right-hander also hurled seven innings when he faced the Twins on April 17, giving up four runs, including a solo homer by Kubel. Hellickson has split two decisions versus Minnesota with a 3.86 ERA.

Tall right-hander Jeff Niemann hopes to capture his first victory of the 2011 season when he starts the nightcap for the Rays.

Niemann is 0-3 through his four starts with a 7.08 ERA, with the lone no- decision coming versus the Twins on April 16. The 6-foot-9 hurler gave up three runs and set season bests with seven innings pitched and six strikeouts, and is 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA in five career games against Minnesota, including four starts.

The 28-year-old was then roughed up five days later on Thursday versus the White Sox, giving up six runs -- five earned -- on six hits over 4 2/3 frames of action.

"He's still not back to where we need him to be, but I think he's on the verge," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "He's not far off, in spite of what you may think. Some of the pitches were up, the breaking ball wasn't as sharp as usual. But then again, he made some really good pitches, too."

Span is 7-for-15 in his career versus Niemann.