Perhaps Minnesota's sweep over Baltimore will be a good omen for the Twins. Against Tampa Bay, they'll take whatever they can get.
The Twins four-game sweep of the Orioles marked just the 12th time in franchise history (since 1961) that they swept a four-game series on the road. In addition, it was just the third time Minnesota had a four-game road sweep of a team which entered the series over .500. The other two times were July 7-9, 1978 at Oakland and July 18-21, 1991 at Boston.
The Twins would like to take that momentum with them to Tampa, for, as you can see in the table below, things have not gone well recently for Minnesota against the Rays.
BEST RECORD VS. OPPONENT SINCE 2011 (min. 20 games)
| Team | Opponent | Record | Win Pct. |
| Rays | Astros | 18-6 | .750 |
| Rays | Twins | 23-9 | .719 |
| Cubs | Mets | 23-9 | .719 |
| Phillies | Padres | 22-9 | .710 |
| Indians | Astros | 17-7 | .708 |
To beat the Rays, the Twins might relay on Joe Mauer, who just loves hitting at Tropicana Field. In fact, Mauer owns the highest road batting average in Minnesota history (since 1961).
HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE AT ANY PARK SINCE 1961 (min. 100 PA)
| Player | Ballpark | Batting Average |
| Joe Mauer | Tropicana Field | .406 |
| Rod Carew | Cleveland Stadium | .377 |
| Tony Oliva | Fenway Park | .376 |
| Shane Mack | County Stadium | .375 |
| Justin Morneau | Fenway Park | .375 |
Overall, Mauer has hit .371 against Tampa in 53 career games, his second-highest batting average against any opponent (min. 10 games).
Other notes:
-- Minnesota is looking to win five straight road games for the first time since June 2011.
-- Ervin Santana was 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA, .196 opponent batting average and 0.98 WHIP in his first four starts. In his last five starts, Santana is 0-4 with an 8.46 ERA, .333 OBA and 1.88 WHIP.
-- Tampa starter Nathan Karns has a 7.50 ERA and .311 opponent batting average in the first inning this season. In the other innings, Karns has a 2.57 ERA and .213 OBA.
-- Tampa's James Loney is batting .377 against the Twins, the fourth-highest batting average all-time for the Rays against any opponent (min. 70 PA).
Statistics courtest STATS Inc.
