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Orioles-Rays Preview

Apr 7, 2010 - 4:18 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Baltimore (0-0) at Tampa Bay (0-0), 7:10 p.m. EDT

A poor start ultimately kept the Tampa Bay Rays from making a run at a second straight AL East title last season. They're poised not to let that happen again.

Coming off a dramatic season-opening victory, the Rays continue their home series with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

Carl Crawford's two-run, bases-loaded double off new closer Mike Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth helped Tampa Bay rally for a 4-3 win Tuesday.

The victory could be a good sign for the Rays, who won 84 games last season, but failed to return to the postseason after winning the AL pennant in 2008.

"That was definitely like '08. We did that a lot," Crawford said of the comeback win. "It's good to get that feeling back. ... Hopefully we can ride the wave and get something going."

A 9-14 record in April left Tampa Bay in a hole it was unable to climb out of last season. The Rays finished third behind New York and Boston in the East.

Looking for a better start this season, Evan Longoria helped the Rays open on a positive note with a solo home run. Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist each added two hits.

"With everything we've been talking about coming into this season, it was kind of nice to get it done that way." Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

After James Shields allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings Tuesday, the Rays turn to Matt Garza to help the club try to open with consecutive wins for the first time since 2002.

Garza went 8-12 with a 3.95 ERA last season, but the 3.68 average runs of support he received was the fewest in the AL.

"Last year, I thought I had a pretty good season, but it's not what I hoped for," Garza told the Rays' official Web site. "And this year, just try and improve on what I did bad - maybe cut down on my walks and make these guys beat me and not beat myself. And that's going to let me go deeper into the games, which takes a lot of pressure off the bullpen."

The right-hander has fared well against the Orioles, going 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA.

Coming off its 12th straight losing season, Baltimore opened 2010 on a sour note after going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Adam Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Wieters homered for the Orioles, who had 11 hits but left 10 runners on base.

"It really doesn't matter what you do the first eight (innings)," manager Dave Trembley said. "It just came down to the last three outs and we didn't get it done."

A first-time All-Star last season, Jones had three hits Tuesday, and is 11 for 26 with three homers and seven RBIs in his last seven games against Tampa Bay.

After Kevin Millwood allowed two runs over five innings in his Orioles' debut, Jeremy Guthrie takes the ball in this contest.

Guthrie, the Orioles' opening day starter the past two seasons, went 10-17 with a 5.04 ERA last season. The right-hander has struggled in five career starts at Tropicana Field, going 0-3 with a 4.97 ERA.