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Rays-Athletics Preview

May 8, 2010 - 6:06 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Tampa Bay (21-7) at Oakland (15-14), 4:05 p.m. EDT

The Tampa Bay Rays have matched the second-best road start since 1900 thanks to some dominant work from their starters on this trip.

The major league-leading Rays look to improve to 14-1 on the road as Wade Davis tries to win his fourth straight start when he faces the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon.

Tampa Bay (22-7) won its fifth straight, 4-1 in Friday's series opener, as David Price became the latest starter to shine by allowing one unearned run over 7 2-3 innings.

"Any time you get pitching like that you're going to win a lot of games," Oakland shortstop Cliff Pennington said.

The Rays have been getting plenty of outings like that, with their starters going 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA on this trip. Each has pitched at least seven innings and they've combined for 27 strikeouts and seven walks.

Tampa Bay is the fourth team to open 13-1 or better on the road, matching the marks by the 1976 Philadelphia Phillies and 1923 New York Giants. The 1984 Detroit Tigers began 17-0.

The Rays' 22-7 record is the majors' best start since the New York Yankees began 23-6 in 2003.

"We've pitched really well and that's been the key to the whole thing," said manager Joe Maddon, whose club has also scored a major league-high 172 runs. "If you break this thing down, we've gotten hits at the right times. We're off to a good start and our guys like what's going on right now."

The pitching matchup Saturday appears to favor Tampa Bay even though Davis (3-1, 2.79) is in his second season while Oakland starter Ben Sheets (1-3, 7.12) is a four-time All-Star.

That's because Sheets is the second pitcher in Oakland history to allow at least eight earned runs in back-to-back outings. Mark Mulder did it Sept. 15 and 21, 2004.

Sheets lasted 3 1-3 innings and yielded nine runs in a 9-3 loss at Toronto on Sunday.

"You can't throw balls over the middle of the plate in the big leagues," Sheets said. "I don't think I could throw it over the middle of the plate in Little League right now."

These starters met April 27 as Davis allowed four runs over five innings in an 8-6 victory. That outing has been sandwiched by ones in which he has not yielded a run during the longest win streak of his career.

The right-hander outdueled reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke by allowing three hits in seven innings in a 1-0 victory over Kansas City on Sunday.

Sheets gave up eight runs over four innings in last month's loss to the Rays as Pat Burrell and Reid Brignac homered. Burrell is 8 for 19 with three homers against Sheets.

"I've found a way to hit Pat's bat a lot," Sheets said. "He's really had his way with me through the years."

Sheets may be able to take some solace in how he's pitched at home, going 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA.

Oakland (15-15) is 0-3 against Tampa Bay after going 6-4 last season.

Rays slugger Evan Longoria went 0 for 1 with three walks Friday, ending his 12-game hitting streak.