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Rays aim to continue dominance of Orioles

Apr 9, 2009 - 11:02 PM By Anthony Giornalista Stats Senior Writer

Tampa Bay (2-1) at Baltimore (2-1), 1:35 p.m. EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Dominant play against the Baltimore Orioles last year helped Tampa Bay on its surprising run to the top of the AL East. The Rays' first series of this season seems to suggest they'll be in the hunt for another division title.

Coming off a strong performance against one of the AL East's top contenders, the Rays look to extend a 12-game winning streak against the Orioles in the opener of a three-game set Friday night.

After nine last-place finishes in the first 10 years of its existence, Tampa Bay topped Boston by two games for the division title in 2008 before advancing to the World Series. The Rays opened this season by taking two of three from the Red Sox, winning the finale 4-3 on Thursday.

"We just wanted to establish ourselves early in the season, set the tone and let the people know it wasn't a fluke," pitcher Matt Garza said. "We're here to battle for a while."

Tampa Bay's surge to the division title was due in large part its one-sided season series with Baltimore (2-1). The Rays won the final 12 meetings and took the series 15-3. Tampa Bay is averaging 7.5 runs during its streak against the Orioles.

Baltimore was hot at the plate in its first two games of the season, outscoring the New York Yankees 17-10 before being denied a series sweep with an 11-2 loss Thursday.

"There's always room for improvement, but you've got to like the start," manager Dave Trembley said.

Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott, who hit a career-high 23 home runs last season, connected for his first of the season Thursday. He's batting .133 (8-for-60) versus Tampa Bay.

Scott and the Baltimore lineup will face Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38 ERA), who will make his first start following a steady second year in the majors. The right-hander went 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA in the postseason, suffering a loss against Philadelphia in Game 4 of the World Series.

Sonnanstine is 2-2 with a 6.67 ERA in five starts against the Orioles.

Baltimore will counter with Mark Hendrickson (7-8, 5.45), who posted a 7.45 ERA in losing his two starts against the Rays last season. The left-hander is 2-4 with a 4.83 ERA in seven starts and one appearance versus Tampa Bay.

The Orioles may be wary of handing the ball to reliever Chris Ray after his poor performance against the Yankees. Ray saved 49 games for Baltimore the past two seasons, but gave up four runs in 1 1-3 innings in the past series.

Ray didn't allow a run in 13 innings during spring training.

Baltimore will take on a Tampa Bay team that piled up 11 runs and 23 hits in winning its final two games against Boston. The Rays' Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce and Shawn Riggans homered off Daisuke Matsuzaka on Thursday.

Longoria, the 2008 Rookie of the Year, had a two-run homer and finished with three hits. The third baseman is batting .429 (6-for-14) with two homers, two doubles and five RBIs on the season.

Longoria, though, has struggled against Baltimore, hitting .229 (11-for-48) with 15 strikeouts.