ARCHIVE April 4, 2026
April 4, 2026 · AL Cent

Tampa Bay Rays vs Minnesota Twins

April 4, 2026Target FieldCloudy 39°F · 14 mph, Out To RF
AWAY
Tampa Bay Rays
3-5
7
vs
HOME
Minnesota Twins
3-5
1

Starting pitchers

AWAY · TB
Steven Matz
Steven Matz
IP 6
HOME · MIN
Mick Abel
Mick Abel
IP 4

Lineups

AWAY · TB
  1. 1 Yandy Díaz DH
  2. 2 Jonathan Aranda 1B
  3. 3 Jake Fraley RF
  4. 4 Junior Caminero 3B
  5. 5 Cedric Mullins CF
  6. 6 Chandler Simpson LF
  7. 7 Ben Williamson SS
  8. 8 Hunter Feduccia C
  9. 9 Richie Palacios 2B
HOME · MIN
  1. 1 Austin Martin LF
  2. 2 Luke Keaschall 2B
  3. 3 Josh Bell 1B
  4. 4 Matt Wallner RF
  5. 5 Ryan Jeffers DH
  6. 6 Victor Caratini C
  7. 7 Royce Lewis 3B
  8. 8 Brooks Lee SS
  9. 9 James Outman CF

Box score

  123456789 R
TB 031020010 7
MIN 010000000 1

Manager comparison

Both managers grade B- / B entering this matchup.

AWAY · TB
Kevin Cash
B- Lineup 0.9 R Bunts 2.4 R IBBs 2.1 R
HOME · MIN
Derek Shelton
B Lineup 0.8 R Bunts 0.5 R IBBs 0.4 R

Recent form

AWAY · TB
8-2 L1 +17 run diff
LWWWWWWWLW
HOME · MIN
3-7 L3 -21 run diff
LLLWWLLWLL

Season series: 3-0 with TB listed first across 3 prior meetings.

Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Tampa Bay Rays
  • Manager lineup cost −0.01 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 3.74 vs actual lineup 3.75
  • Player execution +3.25 R/G Players exceeded the lineup's 3.75 projection by 3.25 (scored 7)
  • Game variance +3.26 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Lineup spots out of order vs season production

HOME · Minnesota Twins
  • Manager lineup cost +0.03 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 4.09 vs actual lineup 4.06
  • Player execution −3.06 R/G Players fell 3.06 short of the lineup's 4.06 projection (scored 1)
  • Game variance −3.09 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Martin 0-for-3 batting 1st

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 3.7 – 4.1 — actual was 7 – 1.

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.