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(Sports Network) - Matt Garza hopes things go a little smoother tonight than they did his last time out when the Tampa Bay Rays continue their three-game interleague series with the Florida Marlins at Tropicana Field.
Garza endured his second straight loss on Sunday against the Texas Rangers, as he allowed three runs and six hits in four innings, dropping him to 4-3 on the season, while raising his ERA to 4.38.
The 24-year-old right-hander, who has never faced the Marlins, also got into it with catcher Dioner Navarro during the contest. The two had words on the mound, then had to be restrained after shoving one another in the dugout.
Florida, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on lanky left-hander Mark Hendrickson, who is 7-4 with a 5.76 ERA. Hendrickson, though, is winless in his last three starts and was saddled with the loss on Monday against Cincinnati, as he allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits, one of which was Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th career home run.
Hendrickson, who pitched two-plus seasons for the Rays, is 2-2 lifetime against his former team with a 4.02 ERA in six games (five starts).
In the opener of this series on Friday, Eric Hinske and Navarro each drove in a pair of runs, lifting Tampa Bay to a 7-3 win. Jason Bartlett, Akinori Iwamura and Gabe Gross added an RBI apiece for the Rays, who snapped a two- game skid. Bartlett finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
Andy Sonnanstine (7-3) started on the hill and allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings to pick the win. J.P. Howell and Dan Wheeler combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief before veteran Troy Percival, who was activated off the 15-day disabled list before the game, nailed things down with a perfect ninth.
The Rays have won 18 of their last 21 home games.
Jeremy Hermida, Mike Jacobs and Alfredo Amezaga each drove in a run for the Marlins, who have dropped two straight.
Ryan Tucker (1-1), making just the second major league start of his career, surrendered five runs on seven hits in five innings en route to the loss.
Florida took four of six from the Rays last season and is 12-7 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign, with six of those wins in that span coming at the Trop.
The Marlins are 106-84 all-time in interleague play, while the Rays have posted a 76-106 mark against the Junior Circuit.
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