Seattle @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( May 11, 2016 ) Tampa Bay 5, Seattle 6

The Seattle Mariners just got through playing three straight series against teams currently leading their divisions and did not fare well with a 3-7 mark in those games. The Mariners will try to pick on a last-place club when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays for the opener of a three-game set on Tuesday.

Seattle split a four-game set with American League Central-leading Cleveland last week but sandwiched that with a pair of series losses against the team it is chasing in the AL West – the Texas Rangers. The Mariners took the opener from the Rangers 7-5 on Friday but watched the bats go silent the next two days before three runs in the final two innings on Sunday made the 6-4 setback slightly more palatable. The Rays own the best record of any last-place team at 29-32 and are creeping up on the .500 mark with wins in seven of their last nine games. Tampa Bay began its homestand by taking two of three from the Houston Astros but will not face another team with a current losing record until Fourth of July week against the Los Angeles Angels.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Taijuan Walker (3-6, 3.48 ERA) vs. Rays RH Jake Odorizzi (3-3, 3.47)

Walker ended a string of six straight losing decisions in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, when he scattered three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out 11 in eight scoreless innings to beat Cleveland. The 23-year-old had allowed 11 runs and 15 hits while fanning five in 9 1/3 innings over his previous two outings. Walker struck out nine against Tampa Bay on May 11 but was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings and did not factor in the decision.

Odorizzi has some trouble working deep into games and went more than five innings only twice in his last six starts. The 26-year-old ran up a high pitch count by striking out eight and walking three at Arizona on Wednesday but managed to pick up a win while allowing three runs in five innings. Odorizzi has always been sharp against Seattle and is 1-1 with a 0.52 ERA in three career starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Mariners LF Nori Aoki (knee) was limited to pinch hitting on Sunday and is day-to-day.

2. Tampa Bay CF Desmond Jennings (quad tightness) left Sunday’s game and is day-to-day.

3. Seattle CF Leonys Martin homered five times in the last 11 games to boost his season total to 10 – twice as many as he hit all of last season.

PREDICTION: Mariners 6, Rays 4