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Surprising Rays, Cardinals kick off three-game set

May 16, 2008 - 2:23 PM Tampa Bay (24-17) at St. Louis (24-19) 8:15 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Two of the majors' most surprising teams kick off a three-game interleague series on Friday when the Tampa Bay Rays meet the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Tampa Bay owns the best mark in the American League, despite playing in the same division as perennial powerhouses Boston and New York.

The Rays, who have never finished with a winning mark in their 11-year existence, will look to go eight games over .500 for the first time in team history when they send Andy Sonnanstine (5-1, 5.07 ERA) to the mound.

The righthander, who has won his last four decisions, did not figure into the decision in Sunday's 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Like the Rays, little was expected of the Cardinals, who followed up their 2006 World Series title run with a 78-84 mark last season, missing the playoffs for just the first time in four seasons.

Along with Albert Pujols' chronic elbow issues, starting pitching appeared to be the biggest reason why St. Louis would struggle. The current rotation entered the season with a combined 427 career starts, with nearly half of those belonging to one pitcher, Kyle Lohse.

Instead, Braden Looper (5-2, 4.21), who leads the team in wins, has led a strong effort from the Cardinals' pitching, as their 3.99 team ERA is good for fifth in the National League. However, the righthander saw his two-game winning streak end in Sunday's 5-3 loss to Milwaukee when he allowed four runs and seven hits over six innings.