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Athletics-Rays Preview

May 19, 2009 - 5:11 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (13-21) at Tampa Bay (19-20), 7:08 p.m. EDT

It's been more than a month since the Tampa Bay Rays surpassed the .500 mark.

The surging Rays have a chance to do it again while trying to extend their season-high winning streak to five games Tuesday night in the continuation of a four-game home series with the struggling Oakland Athletics.

Tampa Bay (20-20) opened the set Monday with a 13-4 victory over the A's, who look to avoid a fifth straight loss after being swept by Detroit to begin a seven-game road trip.

The Rays, who took the final three of a four-game series with Cleveland over the weekend, last played with a winning record on April 13, when they were 4-3. The defending AL champions are 11-6 in May.

"In this game, you're always looking for the .500 mark to begin with, and then you want to move beyond that, but you have to get back there first," manager Joe Maddon told the Rays' official Web site. "In spite of our struggles early on, I just think we're playing a sharper game of baseball right now."

On Monday, Jason Bartlett drove in a career-high five runs and Akinori Iwamura added three RBIs for Tampa Bay, which is averaging eight runs during the winning streak.

A lifetime .285 hitter who's known more for his solid defense at shortstop, Bartlett is batting a team-leading .384. He is 6 for 7 with six RBIs in his last two games and 10 for 19 in his last six contests against Oakland.

"I know he played really well last year. But at no point did I see him play this well," Maddon said. "I'm talking a complete game."

Tampa Bay hopes James Shields (3-4, 3.98 ERA) can avoid his third straight loss. Shields allowed five runs - two earned - and 10 hits in five innings of an 11-7 loss to Cleveland on Thursday in the Rays' most recent defeat.

"I felt good," Shields said. "I felt like I had my stuff."

The right-hander, who also allowed five runs and 10 hits in six innings in a 7-3 loss at Boston on May 8, is 3-1 with a 4.61 ERA in six starts versus Oakland.

Orlando Cabrera homered in his second straight game for Oakland (13-22), which has been outscored 47-13 during the four-game skid. The shortstop has never homered in three consecutive games during his 13-year career, but is batting .364 (4 for 11) against Shields.

The A's starting pitchers haven't been much better than their hitters of late, allowing 31 runs - 23 earned - in 13 innings during the losing stretch.

"We've hit a big bump in our pitching," A's manager Bob Geren said. "It needs to improve, and it will."

Josh Outman (1-0, 4.05) looks to build off his second career victory after allowing one run and three hits in six innings of a 7-2 win over Kansas City on Wednesday.

"Throwing strikes, that was the biggest difference," said the left-hander, who will make his sixth start of the season and first ever against Tampa Bay. "We had to get back in the strike zone and just prove to myself that when I'm in the strike zone consistently like that, attacking hitters and making them stay defensive, I can pitch deep into games and can compete with anyone."

Last in the AL West, Oakland has lost five in a row on the road, where it is 5-12.