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Mariners try for consecutive wins in opener with Rays

Jul 29, 2011 - 3:01 PM (Sports Network) - It's been a long time since the Seattle Mariners posted back-to-back wins. Tonight, they get a chance to do just that when they open a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field.

Behind seven strong innings from reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez, the Mariners stopped the longest losing streak in team history on Wednesday, winning for the first time in 18 games, with a 9-2 victory over the New York Yankees.

Mike Carp struck the big blow with a bases-clearing triple in a five-run seventh and tallied four RBI for the Mariners, who hadn't tasted victory since July 5 at Oakland.

"I guarantee you these guys haven't felt this good in a long time," said manager Eric Wedge, who tried to reverse his club's fortunes during the infamous run by shaving off his moustache. "This is a real big win for us. When you've got a monkey on your back that size, it's damn hard to get it off."

Tonight they hand the ball to Erik Bedard, who returns from the disabled list to make what could be his final start in a Mariners uniform. Bedard's name has been bandied about in recent trade rumors. The Boston Red Sox appear to be the most interested, but a strong performance tonight could make him very attractive to a lot of teams come Sunday.

However, he hasn't pitched in more than a month because of a sprained knee and lost his final two starts before landing on the DL. Still, he was 4-6 at the time of the injury, but was pitching to a 3.00 earned run average.

Bedard has allowed three earned runs or less in 13 of his 15 starts this season and two runs or less in eight of those games.

The left-handed Bedard has dominated the Rays over the course of his career, posting an 11-3 mark to go along with a 3.08 ERA in 21 games, 20 of which have been starts.

Tampa, meanwhile, will hand the ball to righty Jeff Niemann, who is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA. Niemann did not get a decision on Saturday in Kansas City, as he allowed three runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings of a 5-4 loss.

Niemann has also been impressive against the Mariners, going 3-0 in five starts with a 3.48 ERA.

The Rays salvaged the finale of their four-game set with the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, as they rallied for a 10-8 win.

After losing the first three games of the series by a combined score of 26-10, the Rays climbed out of a 5-0 deficit in the first inning of the finale, scoring all of their runs from the sixth inning on.

Evan Longoria's solo homer capped the seven-run rally and Tampa Bay survived the Athletics scoring a run in each of their last three innings.

Left fielder Desmond Jennings belted his first career MLB homer, a two-run shot in the sixth that started the comeback, and finished with four RBI, while B.J. Upton added a solo blast in the eighth, helping the Rays improve to 2-5 on their 10-game road trip.

"If our guys have proven anything over the years, it's that we don't [give up]," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Maybe we've had a bad week ... but that doesn't mean you're bad all of a sudden."

Seattle is 3-1 against the Rays this season.