Tampa Bay @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2012 ) Tampa Bay 6, NY Yankees 4

The Tampa Bay Rays are trying to stay alive in the American League playoff chase at the expense of the New York Yankees. The Rays have taken six of the last eight meetings with the Yankees, including a 6-4 win in Friday’s series opener. That drew Tampa Bay to within three games of both New York and the Baltimore Orioles for the second wild card spot. The Yankees and Orioles are tied for the AL East lead.

The Rays’ problem while getting swept by the Orioles earlier in the week was an inability to score runs. They seemed to solve that issue on Friday with a series of clutch hits with runners on base and another home run from B.J. Upton, who is getting hot over the last few weeks. New York was let down by ace CC Sabathia and faces some uncertainty with its rotation going forward as Ivan Nova and Andy Pettitte come off the disabled list. The only consistent piece for the Yankees has been captain Derek Jeter, who recorded two more hits on Friday to move into sole possession of 10th place on the all-time list with 3,285.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH James Shields (14-8, 3.71 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Ivan Nova (11-7, 4.92)

Shields has put up eight straight quality starts and is coming off his best performance of the season - a two-hit shutout of the Texas Rangers in which he struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The veteran right-hander is 6-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a .152 batting-average against. One of those starts came against New York on Sept. 3, when Shields surrendered three runs on five hits in eight innings to pick up the win. He is just 2-2 with a 6.10 ERA in five starts against the Yankees this season.

Nova is returning to the rotation after spending three weeks on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. The 25-year-old right-hander bumps Freddy Garcia back to the bullpen. Nova struggled mightily before hitting the DL, going 1-3 with an 8.59 ERA in his last five starts. He was reached for six runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings in a loss to Tampa Bay on July 3, but is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA in seven career starts against the division rivals.

WALK-OFFS

1. Rays INF Sean Rodriguez (hand) worked out on the field Friday and is expected to be activated off the disabled list for Saturday. He is limited at the plate, but can run and play in the field.

2. Yankees SS Eduardo Nunez made a costly error in the ninth inning on Friday and has been plagued by fielding problems in the past. Despite those issues, Nunez will likely stay at short until Jeter (ankle) can play the field again.

3. Upton is providing the most consistent offense for Tampa Bay lately with five home runs in as many games and seven in his last 10 contests.