Tampa Bay (73-72) at Baltimore (59-85)

Matt Wieters(notes) has shown signs of progress during his first season with the Baltimore Orioles. The Tampa Bay Rays have helped the highly touted catcher’s cause.

The rookie looks to build off a career effort as the Orioles try for a second straight win over the visiting Rays on Wednesday night.

Wieters had three hits and a career-high five RBIs as Baltimore (59-85) rallied from a five-run deficit to even the four-game set with a 10-5 five win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Drafted fifth overall in 2007, Wieters is batting .272 with six homers and 32 RBIs in 78 games. He’s 7 for 15 with two home runs and eight RBIs in four games against the Rays.

“There’s definitely progress being made,” said Wieters, who’s batting .333 in his last 10 contests. “There are a lot of adjustments to be made up here, and you’re going to have to keep making them.”

Wieters joins more than a handful of young players the last-place Orioles have put on the field in hopes of getting a jump on what could be a promising future for an organization that hasn’t had a winning season since 1997.

“It’s good for the organization, it’s good for the team,” said Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts(notes), who had three hits and drove in his career-high 74th run. “Now (Wieters has) finally started to get comfortable and find his groove.”

After winning for the fifth time in 13 games, the Orioles turn to another youngster when they send Chris Tillman(notes) to the mound in this contest.

Tillman (2-3, 4.91 ERA) looks to win his second straight start after giving up four runs and striking out a career-high eight in five innings of a 10-4 win at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

The 21-year-old right-hander allowed three runs - on three homers - in six innings of a 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay in his only previous start versus the Rays on Aug. 19.

Pat Burrell(notes) and Ben Zobrist(notes) homered off Tillman in that contest, and both hope for another big night for Tampa Bay (73-72), which snapped an 11-game losing streak with an 8-4 win over Baltimore on Monday.

On Tuesday, Burrell broke out of a 1-for-22 slump with a homer and four RBIs, and Zobrist fell a home run short of the cycle for the Rays, who are 6-6 against the Orioles this season.

Zobrist is batting .417 with 11 RBIs in 10 games this year against Baltimore.

Andy Sonnanstine(notes) (6-9, 7.15) returns to the rotation and takes the ball for the Rays in this contest.

The right-hander was relegated to the bullpen after going 0-2 with a 14.85 ERA in two starts since being recalled from his two-month stint at Triple-A Durham. After pitching a scoreless inning of relief against Boston on Saturday, Sonnanstine is back in a starting role despite allowing eight runs in 2 2-3 innings of an 11-1 loss at New York in his last start Sept. 7.

“Definitely (that) was probably one of the worst days of my life,” he said.

Sonnanstine is 2-4 with an 8.55 ERA in seven career starts against the Orioles and 0-2 with a 16.20 ERA at Baltimore this season.

Roberts and Nick Markakis(notes) are a combined 11 for 29 against Sonnanstine.