• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Padres-Rays Preview

Jun 22, 2010 - 3:17 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

San Diego (40-29) at Tampa Bay (42-27), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Out of the top spot in the AL East for the first time in two months, the Tampa Bay Rays are looking to bounce back from their first losing road trip of the season.

Doing so Tuesday night could be tough against Mat Latos and the NL West-leading San Diego Padres, who come to Tropicana Field for a three-game set.

The Rays (42-27) have lost seven of 10 after a 2-4 trip. A 4-1 loss to Florida on Sunday, coupled with the New York Yankees' 4-0 win over the New York Mets, dropped Tampa Bay into second place.

The Rays had been in first since April 22.

"I just like to believe that our guys are not going to like (being in second place)," manager Joe Maddon said, "and I would like to see that serve as motivation."

The Rays shouldn't need much of that as they get set to face Latos (7-4, 3.19 ERA), who has gone 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in his last eight starts. The right-hander won his second straight start Tuesday, retiring the first 11 batters and striking out seven in an 8-2 victory over Toronto.

"He had great stuff tonight," Padres manager Bud Black said. "That's the type of stuff we've seen the last six weeks."

Latos has given up two runs or fewer in eight of his last nine starts. He has never faced Tampa Bay.

Trying to avoid dropping four straight series for the first time since losing five in a row in September, the Rays will give the ball to rookie Wade Davis (5-7, 4.94). The right-hander has gone 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in his last three starts despite striking out 15 and walking one.

Making his first interleague start, Davis allowed three runs and seven hits for the second straight outing in a 6-2 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday. He has gone 2-6 with a 6.48 ERA over his last eight starts.

Davis will face a San Diego team coming off its highest-scoring game in nearly three weeks. After averaging 3.4 runs and batting .243 in the first 17 games of the month, the Padres (40-29) pounded Baltimore for 12 hits in a 9-4 victory Sunday.

First baseman Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with three doubles to extend his season-best hitting streak to nine. He is batting .438 with two homers and seven RBIs during the stretch.

Gonzalez is hitting .343 versus the AL since the beginning of last season.

The Padres hope to get Chase Headley going, as the third baseman is hitless in 23 at-bats.

Tampa Bay's struggles are due in part to lack of offense. Aside from a 14-9 defeat to the Marlins on June 11, the Rays scored 11 runs in the other six losses during their current 3-7 stretch.

The Rays need slugging third baseman Evan Longoria to get back on track, as he has gone 1 for 17 over the last five games.

Left fielder Carl Crawford, named AL player of the week Monday, is batting .380 with two homers and seven RBIs in interleague play this season.

The Rays, winners of 17 of 23 at home against NL opponents, lost two of three in each of the Padres' two visits to Tropicana Field. San Diego is making its first trip to Tampa since June 12-14, 2007.