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(Sports Network) - Workhorse right-hander James Shields looks for his second 2008 victory against Baltimore tonight when the Tampa Bay Rays host the visiting Orioles to begin a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

The 26-year-old Shields emerged as an important member of the Tampa Bay staff last season when he went 12-8 in 31 starts with a 3.85 earned run average over 215 innings. He'd reached the majors for the first time in 2006 and went 6-8 in 21 starts with a 4.84 ERA in 124 2/3 innings.

Shields faced Baltimore on March 31 at Camden Yards and emerged with a victory after allowing five hits and two runs over seven innings in a 6-2 Rays victory.

He's 2-1 in eight lifetime starts against them, posting a 3.54 ERA in 56 innings.

Veteran righty Jeremy Guthrie was on the losing end of that March 31 decision and will attempt to rebound for the Orioles.

A 29-year-old former first-round draft pick in 2002, Guthrie was touched for nine hits and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in the 2008 debut against Tampa.

He's 2-2 against them in six career appearances, including four starts.

Guthrie performed better in his second appearance of this season, allowing six hits and two runs in seven innings, getting a no-decision in Baltimore's 3-2 defeat of Seattle on April 6.

He was 7-5 in 32 games, including 26 starts, for Baltimore in 2007, his first year with the team after 16 appearances over three seasons with the Cleveland Indians.

In St. Petersburg, Edwin Jackson (2-0) pitched eight shutout innings and Mike DiFelice drove in three runs, as the Rays salvaged the finale of a three-game series against Seattle with a 7-0 victory.

B.J. Upton drove in two runs and Akinori Iwamura went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and a run scored for Tampa Bay, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Orioles come into this set after losing two of three to the Rangers after getting swept by Texas in a doubleheader on Thursday.

Tampa Bay and Baltimore split two games of a weather-shortened series earlier this season, but the Orioles are 37-20 against the Rays since the start of the 2005 season.