Rays Tigers Preview

With an opportunity to add to their winning streak, the DetroitTigers are also looking at a franchise first.The Tigers will try to complete their first three-game sweep ofthe Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park while going for a fourthstraight win Wednesday.Detroit (25-23) followed a 6-3 victory Monday by rallying for a7-6 win Tuesday. Alex Avila's second homer of the game, a two--rundrive in the eighth inning, helped lift the Tigers after his solohomer in the sixth made it 6-5.''In order to be a championship team you've got to be able tocome from behind and win one-run games and withstand that kind ofpressure,'' said Avila, who's recorded two hits in four of his lastfive games following a 1-for-13 slump from May 10-16.Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer, his ninth of the year andfirst in Detroit since April 10. The Tigers have scored 15 timesduring a three-game winning streak following a five-game slide inwhich they totaled seven runs.Detroit's only sweep of the Rays came Sept. 4-6, 2009, in St.Petersburg, Fla., and the Tigers' Brad Penny (4-4, 4.45 ERA) willtry to get his fourth win in five starts while perhaps making somehistory.The right-hander yielded five runs over 21 2-3 innings in hisfirst three May games en route to wins over the New York Yankees,Toronto and a fantastic outing against Kansas City on May 14, whenhe allowed five hits in eight innings of the Tigers' 3-0 win.But Penny failed to keep his surge going Friday at Pittsburgh.In 5 2-3 innings, he was tagged for five runs and six hits with aseason-high five walks in the 10-1 loss."Just too many walks and they got three infield hits off me,''said Penny, 2-4 with a 4.95 ERA in six career starts against TampaBay.Ex-Tiger Johnny Damon is 0 for 6 and Evan Longoria 0 for 5all-time against Penny.Matt Joyce had three hits Tuesday for the Rays, including hiseighth homer, to raise his AL-leading batting average to .367.Joyce, who hadn't hit higher than .252 in any of his three previousseasons, had 12 homers in 92 games as a rookie with the Tigers in2008.''It has been a tough week,'' Joyce said after Tampa Bay's sixthloss in eight games. ''We've got to find ways to win thesegames.''Andy Sonnanstine (0-1, 4.21) will make his fourth start in placeof the injured Jeff Niemann (back) for Tampa Bay.As a reliever,tera gold, Sonnanstine had no record and a 2.19 ERA in sixgames this year. Since returning to the rotation on May 10, he'sfailed to go past the fifth inning while posting a 6.08 ERA.Following a loss to Baltimore on May 15, Sonnanstine did not geta decision in the Rays' 5-3 setback to Florida on Friday. In fiveinnings, the right-hander was reached for three runs - two on solohomers by Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton in the fourth - and sevenhits.Sonnanstine has served up five homers in 13 1-3 innings as astarter compared to one over 12 1-3 in relief.He has not faced the Tigers since splitting two starts in 2008.The loss came at Detroit after he allowed five runs and five hitsover 5 2-3 innings as the Rays (26-23) fell 6-4 on Sept. 26.