Seattle @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 20, 2011 ) Seattle 0, Tampa Bay 8

THE STORY: The Seattle Mariners have lived up to their billing as the worst offense in the majors through the first two games of their road series with the Tampa Bay Rays, and it won't be easy to change that trend Sunday when James Shields takes the mound in hopes of pitching the Rays to a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field. Shields ranks sixth in the American League in ERA and leads the majors with nine complete games.

TV: 1:40 p.m. ET, ROOT (Seattle), SunSports (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Michael Pineda (9-7, 3.77 ERA) vs. Rays RH James Shields (11-10, 2.83 ERA)

Pineda has just one win in his last six starts. The 22-year-old rookie hasn't factored in the decision in either of his last two outings. He allowed five runs over five innings Monday against Toronto, but the Mariners rallied for a 6-5 win. His last win came against Tampa Bay on July 30, when he allowed two runs (one earned) and piled up a career-high 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

Shields has bounced back from a horrible outing July 27 at Oakland with three consecutive quality starts. After getting bombed for 10 runs in four innings against the A's, Shields won his next two starts and allowed three runs in an eight-inning complete game in a 3-1 loss at Boston on Tuesday. In 10 starts against the Mariners, Shields is 3-4 with a 3.56 ERA. He lost at Seattle on June 2, allowing eight runs (seven earned) over four innings.

ABOUT THE MARINERS (53-71): Seattle has lost four straight and has fallen to 21-39 on the road. The majors' lowest-scoring offense has been the culprit in the past three games, as the Mariners have scored a total of three runs. They suffered their 11th shutout of the season in Saturday's 8-0 loss. One of the few bright spots for the punchless offense has been Mike Carp, who extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single Saturday.

ABOUT THE RAYS (68-56): The Rays are a season-high 12 games over .500 after winning six straight at home and nine of 11 overall. They shaved a game off their deficits in the division and wild-card races, but still trail the Yankees by eight games in the AL East and are 7 1/2 games behind the Red Sox for the wild card. The Rays are riding the hot bat of Evan Longoria, who drove in four runs Saturday and has 19 RBIs in his past 15 games.

FINAL PITCH: With his 20th home run Saturday, Longoria joined Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews as the only major-league third basemen with 20 or more homers in each of their first four seasons.