Tampa Bay @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 8, Baltimore 1

The best road team in baseball gets a chance to pad its record against the worst team in the game when the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay, which owns the best road record in the majors at 30-16, cruised to an 8-1 victory in the series opener on Monday. The Rays rushed out to an eight-run lead after a seven-run third inning and starter Wade Davis breezed to his third career win against the Orioles.

The Rays are 4-0 against the Orioles at Camden Yards and 6-1 overall this season. They seem to like being on the road, especially against AL East rivals. Tampa Bay improved to 24-12 against division opponents with Monday's win, including a stellar 14-4 mark on the road.

Looking to help the Rays mainatain their excellent play on the road will be Tuesday's starter Matt Garza.

Garza (10-5, 4.05 ERA) is 3-0 in his last four starts - with a save against the Boston Red Sox mixed in there for good measure. After he was knocked out of his July 5 start against the Red Sox after just three innings, he returned to action two days later to earn his first career save as a fill-in closer.

In his last start, Garza tossed six innings of one-hit ball in a 4-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on July 10. He has given up three runs or less in three of his last four starts and has a history of being stingy against the Orioles.

In 10 career starts against Baltimore, Garza is 8-1 with a 2.48 ERA. He has two wins against the Orioles this season, both coming in April. In those two victories, Garza allowed three runs and 10 hits in 16 innings.

While the Rays can win anywhere, the Orioles seem to lose just about every time out. With Monday's loss, Baltimore (29-63) is 34 games under .500. The Orioles have the worst record in baseball and are the only team in the majors yet to reach 30 victories.

Somehow, Baltimore swept a four-game series at the AL West-leading Texas Rangers before the All-Star break, but the Orioles have returned to their losing ways. They have dropped four straight at home to start the second half.

Jake Arrieta (3-2, 4.38 ERA) will start for Baltimore on Tuesday and will be facing Tampa Bay for the first time in his career. Arrieta has pitched 6 1/3 innings in each of his last two starts, allowing just one run in each.