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Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen appears to be getting comfortable with longer starts as he works his way back following his third major elbow surgery.

After pitching into the sixth inning just once in his first eight starts this season, he has tossed a season-best six innings in each of his past two outings.

Rasmussen will look to deliver another strong outing on Wednesday afternoon when Tampa Bay plays the rubber match of its three-game series against the visiting Minnesota Twins.

The Rays extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 7-2 victory in the series opener on Monday, but the Twins evened the set with a 4-2 decision on Tuesday. Minnesota is a major-league-best 23-9 since starting the season with a 7-15 record.

Rasmussen (3-4, 2.60 ERA) scattered four hits over six scoreless innings for the second straight outing in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. He threw 76 pitches.

“I think that’s kind of what the key is going to be, right? When we’re talking about going deeper into ballgames, it’ll be efficiency-driven,” Rasmussen said. “Helping (the bullpen) out and being efficient, it’s been pretty nice these last couple outings.”

Rasmussen, 29, has recorded four starts with five or more shutout innings this season.

He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four career appearances (one start) vs. the Twins.

Rasmussen would be wise to pitch carefully around Kody Clemens and Carlos Correa. Clemens homered to lead off the second inning on Tuesday, extending his career-best hitting streak to eight games, while Correa is 4-for-8 with a homer and two RBIs in this series.

Minnesota right-hander Pablo Lopez (4-2, 2.31 ERA) will start on Wednesday afternoon. Lopez received a no-decision in his latest outing despite allowing only one run in 5 2/3 innings vs. the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

He has made himself at home on the road this year, posting a 1.55 ERA in opposing ballparks while limiting the opposition to a .194 batting average.
Lopez, 29, is 2-3 with a 4.05 ERA in eight career appearances (all starts) against the Rays.

He needs to keep a keen eye on both Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda. Lowe has three homers, five RBIs and nine runs during a 10-game hitting streak, while Aranda is 4-for-7 with a homer, four RBIs and two runs in the series.

The availability of Minnesota’s Harrison Bader is in question after he sat out the Monday game and came on as a defensive replacement in center field Tuesday while nursing a finger injury on his right hand. He got hurt while breaking his bat on a swing during the 10th inning on Sunday against the Royals.

“When I let go of the bat, for whatever reason, the bat broke on my ring finger,” Bader said, per the Minnesota Star Tribune. “It just zinged it a little bit and blew everything up a little bit. I’m trying to swing through it, but it just gets to a point where you’re just not effective, obviously, in a major league game. I’m just trying to work toward getting back there as soon as I can.”

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. has manned center field with Byron Buxton on the seven-day concussion injured list and Bader sidelined.

–Field Level Media