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Marlins aim for series sweep against intrastate rival

May 20, 2007 - 1:24 PM Florida (20-23) at Tampa Bay (18-24) 1:40 pm EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Offense has been the key to the Florida Marlins finding their way back to .500. On Sunday, they will face a stiff challenge if they hope to continue that quest.

The Marlins will go for the series sweep against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the teams conclude their three-game interleague series.

Florida has outscored opponents, 30-19 in winning four of its last five games after being shut out twice and scoring just seven runs during a four-game skid. Florida's offense again led the way on Saturday as Hanley Ramirez, Jeremy Hermida and Aaron Boone all homered in a 7-2 victory.

Florida, which is 33-19 all-time against its intrastate rivals, is trying for its third sweep at Tropicana Field and first since June 24-26, 2005.

However, James Shields (3-0, 3.13 ERA) has been Tampa Bay's most consistent pitcher thus far, lasting at least 6 1/3 innings in each of his eight starts. The righthander is making his third attempt to become the first starter in Devil Rays' history to win his first four decisions.

Shields yielded three runs and six hits in eight innings in a no-decision last Tuesday against Texas as Tampa Bay recorded a 4-3, 10-inning victory. He went 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in four interleague starts as a rookie in 2006, however, his worst outing among the four came against the Marlins, as he allowed seven runs and 10 hits in five innings of an 8-5 loss on June 26.

The Marlins will counter with Sergio Mitre (1-2, 2.18), who will try to win consecutive starts for the first time since June 8-14, 2005. The righthander, who has posted a 1.15 ERA in his last two starts, limited the Pittsburgh Pirates to three runs and eight hits in Florida's 9-3 victory on Tuesday..

Mitre is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in three interleague starts, all of which came in 2005. He will be making his first appearance against the Devil Rays.