The Rays have lost two straight on the road against the hard-hitting Twins, and will rely on left-hander Springs to avoid the sweep. With eight starts now under his belt, the rookie has impressed, with a 1.62 ERA. He began the season as a reliever but is now stretched out to 5 or 6 innings. His last start was a 6 inning shutout over the Cardinals. The Rays can expect solid support from their relief corps, sparkling as usual, with a 1.78 ERA in their last ten games.

Starting for the Twins is rookie righty Sands, who has even less experience than Springs. He has potential but has yet to show it in the Bigs, allowing a run an inning on average in his first 3 starts, and lasting just 9+ innings. The Twins will have to rely heavily on their bullpen on Sunday, but their relievers have been very soft lately with a leaky 5.23 ERA in their last ten games. The combination of Sands and the Twins relievers ended in 10 runs in his last appearance.

For the Twins it seems to be win big or lose bigger lately. Their bats have been very hot, with a monster OPS of .983 in their last week, but do not hit left-handers with the same authority. They have owned the Rays lately but Sunday will be an exception. Look for Tampa Bay to rally and avoid the broom. Rays to win.