The Yankees made the most of their recent ten-game homestand, going 9-1 against the Tigers, Orioles, and A’s. That’s good, because now things get tough. The first seven games of this nine-game road trip are against the Rays and White Sox, both contending teams. Then, after a two-game stop in Toronto, they come home to play four against the Red Sox. That’s 11 of 13 games against contending teams.

The Rays are 6.5 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East, but the Pythagorean standings look like this:

BOS 56-41  –
NYY 56-42  .5
TBR 56-43  1

The Rays still aren’t getting much from B.J. Upton or Pat Burrell, and their catching duo of former Yankee farmhands Dioner Navarro and Michel Hernandez is almost single-handedly keeping them out of the Wild Card race. Jason Bartlett has cooled a bit since returning from the DL, but is still contributing a solid .296/.354/.417 from shorststop and fellow flukester Ben Zobrist is hot as ever, hitting .379/.463/.500 since July 7.

In the rotation, Scott Kazmir is back from the DL and with pitch Tuesday night, but he’s not been that much more effective since his return, going 0-2 with a 5.08 ERA and just one quality start in five tries. Wednesday night starter Matt Garza, however, has been his usual inconsistent, but often dominant self. Tonight the Rays throw James Shields, who is turning in a season that looks a lot like the one he had last year plus a few extra hits.

The Yankees counter with A.J. Burnett, who is looking for his eighth-straight quality start. A.J. already has two quality starts against the Rays in as many tries this season, including an eight-inning, three-hit, nine-strikeout effort a the Trop back on April 14.

One other thing about the Rays: they’ve made lefty reliever J.P Howell their closer. Since June 1, Howell has posted a 1.14 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 11.03 K/9. His only two blown saves during that stretch came in the eighth inning against the Yankees the last time they were in Tampa. In neither case did he allow a run, and in one he didn’t even allow a hit (though he did walk in a run).

The Yankees are sticking with the extra reliever for now rather than calling up a replacement for Brett Gardner. Everyone’s in his usual spot in tonight’s lineup.

Tampa Bay Rays

2009 Record: 54-45 (.545)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 56-43 (.566)

Manager: Joe Maddon
General Manager: Andrew Friedman

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Tropicana Field (102/103)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Jason Bartlett (DL) has replaced Reid Brignac (minors)
• Pat Burrell (DL) has replaced Matt Joyce (minors)
• Scott Kazmir (DL) has replaced Andy Sonnanstine (minors)
• Dale Thayer (minors) has replaced Jason Isringhausen (DL)

25-man Roster:

1B – Carlos Peña (L)
2B – Ben Zobrist (S)
SS – Jason Bartlett (R)
3B – Evan Longoria (R)
C – Dioner Navarro (S)
RF – Gabe Gross (L)
CF – B.J. Upton (R)
LF – Carl Crawford (L)
DH – Pat Burrell (R)

Bench:

S – Willy Aybar (IF)
R – Gabe Kapler (OF)
R – Joe Dillon (UT)
R – Michel Hernandez (C)

Rotation:

R – James Shields
L – Scott Kazmir
R – Matt Garza
L – David Price
R – Jeff Niemann

Bullpen:

L – J.P. Howell
R – Joe Nelson
R – Grant Balfour
L – Randy Choate
R – Dan Wheeler
R – Lance Cormier
R – Dale Thayer

15-day DL:

C – Shawn Riggans (shoulder tendonitis)
RHP – Troy Percival (shoulder tendonitis)
RHP – Chad Bradford (back tightness)
LHP – Brian Shouse (strained elbow)

60-day DL:

2B – Akinori Iwamura (ACL, MCL, and ankle)
OF – Fernando Perez (dislocated wrist)
RHP – Jason Isringhausen (torn elbow ligament)

Projected Lineup:

R – B.J. Upton (CF)
L – Carl Crawford (LF)
R – Evan Longoria (3B)
L – Carlos Peña (1B)
S – Ben Zobrist (2B)
R – Pat Burrell (DH)
L – Gabe Gross (RF)
S – Dioner Navarro (C)
R – Jason Bartlett (SS)