Rays-Mariners Preview - MLB

Tampa Bay (55-50) at Seattle (44-61)

Any momentum the Seattle Mariners might have gained from ending the longest skid in franchise history did not last long. 

Hoping to get All-Star rookie Michael Pineda(notes) back on track, the Mariners look to avoid beginning another potential streak in the wrong direction Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Seattle (44-61) had a huge weight lifted off its collective chest by snapping a 17-game losing streak with a 9-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday. After a day off, however, the Mariners were unable to build on that victory during Friday’s 8-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
The Mariners have gone from 2 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West on July 5 to 15 back heading into this contest. The offensively deprived club had just three hits while being shut out for the ninth time Friday.
“These guys have to go out and do better,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said.
One of the rare bright spots has been rookie second baseman Dustin Ackley(notes), who went 1 for 3 in the series opener to raise his average to .302 in 34 games since making his major league debut June 17.
After Erik Bedard(notes) lasted just 1 1-3 innings in his return from the disabled list, the Mariners hope Pineda (8-7, 3.64 ERA) can avoid a fourth consecutive subpar outing when he faces the Rays for the first time.
Pineda has given up 19 runs in 15 2-3 innings while going 0-2 in three starts since beating Oakland on July 4. The 6-foot-7 right-hander allowed seven runs for the second time in that stretch while working a season-low 4 1-3 innings in a 12-8 loss at Boston on Sunday.
“I don’t know. … It’s pretty hard right now,” Pineda told the Mariners’ official website.
He will try to regroup and cool down a Tampa Bay club that has scored 18 runs to win its last two games after totaling 10 while dropping its previous three. Former Mariner Casey Kotchman(notes) had three hits with an RBI as the Rays (55-50) scored all their runs in the second inning Friday.
“This was essential for us, we needed to keep this thing rolling,” Kotchman said.
A .217 hitter with Seattle last season, Kotchman is batting a career-best .329 for the Rays in 2011.
Teammate Ben Zobrist(notes) hit his 14th home run Friday and is batting .405 (15 for 37) with three homers and eight RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak.
Rookie Alex Cobb(notes) (3-0, 2.57) looks to remain perfect when he makes his eighth start for Tampa Bay. The right-hander is coming off the best outing of his young career Sunday, when he allowed six hits and no walks in seven innings before a blister forced him to leave a 5-0 win at Kansas City.
On his third stint with the Rays in 2011, Cobb looks to have secured a big league job for the rest of the season.
“This is why we went to a six-man (rotation),” manager Joe Maddon said. “This is the exact reason. You can’t do it unless you have a pitcher that is that effective and big league-ready and Alex is.”
Tampa Bay has not won three in a row since a four-game run June 22-26.