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Mariners-Rays Preview

May 16, 2010 - 1:26 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Seattle (14-21) at Tampa Bay (24-11), 1:40 p.m. EDT

Matt Garza knows to be prepared when he pitches opposite Seattle's Cliff Lee. The Tampa Bay Rays ace certainly was the first time they met.

Garza will match up with the 2008 AL Cy Young winner for the second time this month on Sunday when the first-place Rays face the Mariners in the series finale at Tropicana Field.

In an 8-3 victory on May 5 in Seattle, Garza (5-1, 2.49 ERA) threw eight innings of two-run ball to become the AL's first five-game winner, and fastest to reach that number of victories in franchise history.

Although the Rays tagged Lee for five runs and 10 hits, Garza was nothing but complimentary.

"You have to be on top of your game when you face a guy like (Lee)," Garza told the Rays' official website. "The past few seasons, he's practically dominated with every team he's been on.

"You just have to go in there with a good game plan and fight. You have to last as long as he does or try to last longer. That's all I can say."

Lee (1-1, 2.01) earned his first win for Seattle on Tuesday, giving up one run and eight hits over 7 1-3 innings in a 5-1 victory at Baltimore. The left-hander missed the first month of the season due to an abdominal strain, but is pleased so far.

"Since I've been back, I've felt good," Lee said. "I've given the team a chance each time I've taken the mound. That's really all you can do a starter."

Lee, who has 15 strikeouts and no walks this season, is 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA in four starts at Tropicana Field.

The Mariners (14-22) were hoping Lee would be pitching for their first road series sweep in more than a year, but Tampa Bay (25-11) rallied from a 2-0 eighth-inning deficit Saturday, winning 3-2 Willy Aybar's walk-off homer.

The Rays also maintained their one-game edge over the New York Yankees for the majors' best record.

Despite being among the major league leaders with 5.4 runs per game, Tampa Bay has struggled to score lately, averaging 3.3 runs while losing four of seven.

Improved play from first baseman Carlos Pena and center fielder B.J. Upton would help. Both went 1 for 3 Saturday, but have been struggling for some time. Pena is batting .064 while Upton is 5 for 46 since April 30.

Ichiro Suzuki has fared much better at the plate lately. The Mariners' two-time batting champion is hitting .360, and has matched a career high with seven straight multihit games. Suzuki, who is batting .567 during this run, is 5 for 15 with a homer lifetime against Garza.

After hitting 13 homers in the first 33 games, the Mariners have gone deep seven times in their last three. Mike Sweeney has one in each of these contests. The last time he homered in four straight games was a five-game stretch from June 25-29, 2002 with Kansas City.

Sweeney is 0 for 3 lifetime versus Garza.

Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, who homered in Friday's 4-3 win, is 5 for 11 against Garza, and hit a two-run homer off him on May 5.

Tampa Bay has won five of six against Seattle.