Tampa Bay @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 20, 2012 ) Tampa Bay 2, Washington 3

The Washington Nationals ended a four-game losing skid Wednesday night and hope to notch another victory in Thursday’s finale of the interleague home series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in seven innings as Washington won the second contest of a three-game set that has included Rays manager Joe Maddon and Nationals skipper Davey Johnson exchanging barbs following the ejection of Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta in the opener.

Peralta, a former Nationals pitcher, was ejected prior to pitching in Tuesday’s game when Johnson asked the umpiring crew to inspect his glove and pine tar was discovered to be inside. Peralta did pitch in Wednesday’s game, getting the final two outs of the eighth inning without incident. The contest was the second straight one-run game in the series but there could be some theatrics if either team is in the midst of a blowout victory during the finale. The Rays had won eight straight interleague road games – one shy of the record set by Seattle Mariners in 2006-07 – before losing Wednesday.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa), Mid-Atlantic Sports Network 2 (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Matt Moore (4-5, 4.16 ERA) vs. Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (8-3, 2.52)

Moore, an unheralded star during the 2011 postseason, has won three straight starts after beginning the season poorly. Moore gave up just one hit in seven shutout innings while beating the Miami Marlins in his last outing. He is just 1-2 with a 5.01 ERA in four road starts. Moore has never faced the Nationals.

Gonzalez has lost two of his last three starts after winning five consecutive outings. He gave up three runs and five hits in six innings while losing to the New York Yankees in his last start. Gonzalez has give up three or fewer runs in 12 consecutive starts since giving up a season-high four in his first start of the season. He is 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against Tampa Bay.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Rays have allowed just 11 runs in five games since being pounded for 29 runs while losing three straight games to the New York Mets.

2. Washington has scored just 13 runs in the first five contests of a six-game homestand against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay.

3. Tampa Bay’s Ben Zobrist is hitless in seven at-bats in the series after going 13-for-25 over his previous seven games.