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May 10, 2016 - 6:36 AM Wade Miley's tenure with the Seattle Mariners got off to a horrendous start. Now he's pitching like they expected when they traded two young arms to acquire him.

Miley takes the mound Tuesday night looking to stay hot as the Mariners host the Tampa Bay Rays.

Seattle (19-13) traded reliever Carson Smith and starter Roenis Elias to Boston at the winter meetings for Miley (2-2, 4.74 ERA), who posted an 8.04 ERA through his first four starts with his new club.

He's been much better over his last three. After pitching into the eighth in a win over the Los Angeles Angels on April 24, Miley blanked Kansas City in a complete game before allowing two runs in six innings of Thursday's 6-3 win over Houston.

"I feel like my mechanics are good and (catcher Chris Iannetta) has done a great job the last couple ... just staying with me and sticking to the plan and we've been able to execute it," Miley told MLB's official website.

The left-hander faced the Rays five times while with Boston last season, going 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA. Evan Longoria and Brandon Guyer went deep off Miley, while Kevin Kiermaier hit for the cycle over his eight official at-bats in their matchups.

Longoria homered in Monday's series opener, but Ketel Marte broke a tie with a three-run homer in the sixth that gave Seattle a 5-2 win. Marte also doubled twice, finished with a career-high four hits and scored three times.

The Mariners scored seven runs over their previous three combined.

Tampa Bay (15-15) had won four in a row but was held to four hits, its fewest on the road this season. They also lost second baseman Logan Forsythe in the third inning because of a bruised shoulder after he was hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch.

Forsythe's status for this one is unclear.

The Rays look to get back on track behind Drew Smyly, who is coming off his shortest outing of the season. Smyly (1-3, 2.72) allowed two runs in five innings while receiving a no-decision in the Rays' 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a 1.73 ERA over his last four with opponents hitting .157 against him in that stretch.

"My body feels great. I'm excited about that," Smyly said. "You have to be consistent. Just give your team a chance to win every game. You're going to give up runs here and there. You're going to give up hits. Just keep the team in the game and try to go as deep as you can. Save the bullpen at times. Try to get team victories."

The left-hander hasn't faced the Mariners since 2014, when he labored through four innings while allowing three runs and seven hits in a 3-2 defeat.

Neither Robinson Cano (0 for 6) nor Nelson Cruz (2 for 13) have hit Smyly well, but Iannetta has three doubles in five at-bats.






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