Rays 4 - 5 Guardians
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Indians, Rays open set in Cleveland

May 10, 2011 - 3:04 PM

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(Sports Network) - The Cleveland Indians sit atop the American League Central standings thanks in part to their strong play at home, while the Tampa Bay Rays have rebounded from an awful beginning because of the way they have played on the road of late.

Something has to give tonight when the two teams begin a three-game series at Progressive Field.

The Tribe dropped their first two games of the year at home, but have since reeled off 13 straight wins. Another victory tonight would give the Indians their best home start in franchise history and match their third-longest home winning streak, last accomplished from Aug. 18-Sept. 10, 1995.

Cleveland returns home tonight following a 3-3 West Coast road trip that culminated with a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday. The Indians held a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, but saw the bullpen blow it.

Grady Sizemore went 3-for-5 with a solo home run for Cleveland, which has dropped three of five.

A big part of Cleveland's success takes the hill tonight in right-hander Josh Tomlin, who is 4-1 with a 2.43 earned run average. Tomlin suffered his first loss of the season on Wednesday in Oakland, despite allowing just two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. He has lasted at least five innings in each of his first 18 starts.

"I thought Tomlin was fantastic," Cleveland manager Manny Acta said.

This will be Tomlin's first-ever appearance against the Rays.

Tampa, meanwhile, enters this series red-hot after sweeping a three-game set from the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday, as B.J. Upton had two hits and four RBI to lead Tampa to a 5-3 win.

Wade Davis (4-2) earned the win in five innings of work in which he allowed three runs on four hits and five walks while fanning three to give the Rays their team-record eighth straight road win and 19th victory in 25 games overall.

"We're playing good baseball right now," said Ben Zobrist, who is riding a 14- game hit streak. "We're hitting the ball really well, scoring some runs, which is nice. It keeps things going, everybody gets excited when you're scoring a lot of runs."

Hoping to keep the momentum rolling for the Rays this evening will be right- hander Andy Sonnanstine, who gets the start in place of the injured Jeff Niemann. An integral part of Tampa's staff from 2007-08, Sonnanstine has been relegated to the bullpen and has made just four starts since the middle of September 2009.

"He takes care of himself. I'm not concerned with 75 or 80 pitches, or even a little more than that," Tampa skipper Joe Maddon said. "I think he's capable."

Sonnanstine, who is 3-3 lifetime against the Rays, has made six relief appearances for the Rays this season and has pitched to a 2.19 ERA without recording a decision.

Tampa won seven of its nine matchups with the Indians last season.






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