Just one loss. That’s all last night was. But it was enough for some people to begin whispering that “the Rays can’t handle September.” It caused Rudy Guiliani to say that the Yankees were still alive. Both false, of course, but still the overreactions of a quote-hungry media.

Let’s shut those people up tonight with a win on national television.

What to watch for: Carl Pavano’s arm could fall off at any moment.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson picked up his career-high 11th win of the season Thursday night against the Blue Jays when he allowed just one run in seven innings. Jackson threw 70 of 106 pitches for strikes and scattered six hits with two strikeouts for his sixth win in seven games. The young flamethrower is at his best when he is locating his 97 mph fastball, which sets up an array of other pitches, particularly his slider.

Carl Pavano -Pavano delivered six impressive innings Friday night to pick up his second win of the season in as many attempts, and his first at Yankee Stadium since 2005. He quieted the Blue Jays’ bats, holding them to one run and just three hits. He recorded one walk and one strikeout. The strikeout came against the final batter he faced before exiting after 72 pitches. Pavano said he had to work throughout the game to keep the ball low, but he retired 18 of the 22 batters he faced, including 12 straight hitters. He has not faced Tampa Bay this season.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Carl Pavano.

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The Yankees are dead and buried. It’s just a plain fact. This series is important for one reason and one reason only - reducing the Rays’ magic number. Even if the Yankees sweep the series, they STILL don’t have a chance of catching the Rays. It’s just a fact.

What to watch for: The crowd. Let’s see it, Rays fans. Don’t let the Yankee fans take over the park.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza -The 24-year-old Fresno State product has arguably the best stuff on the Rays staff, boasting a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He is coming off Wednesday night’s win over Toronto in which the right-hander scattered six hits over seven 2/3 shutout innings. Garza tossed 69 of 115 pitches for strikes, and two of his three walks came to his final batters. Garza is 1-1 in two starts vs. the Yankees, with a 3.29 ERA.
Mike Mussina - Mussina kept up his consistency with seven solid innings against the Red Sox on Thursday, but came away with his second straight no-decision. He held Boston to two runs to keep the Yankees in the game, scattering five hits with two walks. With six strikeouts, Mussina moved past Frank Tanana for sole possession of 20th place on the all-time list with 2,778 career strikeouts. He has thrown at least six innings in nine of his last 10 starts. Mussina is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in two outings against Tampa Bay this season.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Mike Mussina.

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The Rays are doing exactly what they have to do - beating up on lesser teams like the Orioles as they try to wrap up this American League East race and march on to the playoffs.

Today, James Shields gets the chance to deliever the sweep and pick up his 12th win of the year.

What to watch for: The Rays have struggled to pick up the “sweep” lately - dropping the final game after winning the first two a number of times in the past month and a half. Brian Burres might be the worst pitcher they’ve seen in those games, though.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
James Shields - Shields took the loss against the Blue Jays on Tuesday night, allowing nine hits and four runs over six 2/3 innings. Despite carrying a League-leading 2.21 home ERA into the game, Shields wasn’t his usual dominant self at Tropicana Field and was outdone by Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Shields’ best pitch has always been his changeup, but he also has a plus fastball and curve, and he’s added a cutter that has helped him throw inside to left-handed hitters. He will face Baltimore for the fourth time this season, looking to match a career-high 12 wins from last season.
Brian Burres - Burres is back in the rotation, thanks as much to some injuries and some poor pitching by Baltimore’s starters as much as anything he’s done. The southpaw was yanked from the starting staff at the beginning of August and went down to Norfolk to work as a reliever but was recalled after Garrett Olson washed out of the rotation.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Brian Burres.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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What to watch for: Which Scott Kazmir shows up? For our sake, let’s hope it’s the good one.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - Kazmir took a no-decision in his last outing, against the White Sox on Saturday, when he allowed three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out seven. The 24-year-old left-hander has struggled with his mechanics lately and has worked all season with little luck to gain command of his slider, which has historically been his best pitch. Without his slider, Kazmir has relied primarily on a fastball-changeup combination. He is 4-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 12 career starts against the Orioles.

Jeremy Guthrie - Guthrie, Baltimore’s ace, suffered through one of his worst starts of the season in his last outing, a 5-3 loss to the Yankees. The right-hander also served up two homers in his second consecutive loss. Still, the Orioles are likely not worried in the least about Guthrie, who has proven time and again this season to be the only person who can consistently and confidently take the ball every fifth day. Guthrie will also get an extra day of rest due to the Orioles off-day on Thursday. Guthrie has faced the Rays twice this season, both times at Tropicana Field, and he is 0-2, despite allowing just three combined earned runs.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jeremy Guthrie.

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After last night’s gutty, gritty pitching performance, Edwin Jackson attempts to deliver a series win to the Rays tonight against Jesse Litsch and the Jays. After watching the Red Sox dismantle the Yankees the past two days, you’d love the Rays to pick up another win to keep a leg up.

What to watch for: The Rays have done pretty well against Litsch in the past, so if they can get just a few runs off of him,. Edwin should be able to navigate the Jays’ offense.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson picked up his 10th win of the season Friday night against the White Sox when he allowed just two runs after scattering seven hits and five walks over six innings. Making his outing more remarkable was the fact he allowed the leadoff runner to reach base in five of the six innings he pitched. If Jackson is locating his 97 mph fastball, his other pitches can work well, particularly his slider. Jackson is 1-3 with a 4.20 ERA in nine career appearances against the Blue Jays.

Jesse Litsch - Since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 14, the 23-year-old Litsch has spun 13 consecutive shutout innings over two starts. On Saturday, he picked up a win at home — Litsch’s first victory since June 26 — after limiting the Red Sox to no runs on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. In his career against the Rays, Litsch has gone 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA in five appearances.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Jesse Litsch.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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After back-to-back losses, the Rays try to get back on the horse tonight against a rookie left-hander who has been beat up quite a bit in the early-goings of his career. With Matt Garza going for the Rays, it’s a great night to snap the skid before it gets out of hand.

What to watch for: David Purcey is not very good, but the Rays aren’t very good against left-handed pitching. Something’s gotta give.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Matt Garza - The 24-year-old Fresno State product has arguably the best stuff on the Rays staff, boasting a mid-90s fastball that sinks, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. He is coming off Wednesday night’s no-decision to the Angels in which the right-hander allow four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out seven. Garza is 2-2 in four career starts vs. Toronto, with a 2.77 ERA.

David Purcey - In five starts since joining Toronto’s rotation on July 24, Purcey has gone 2-3 with a 5.33 ERA. Over that span, the 6-foot-5 left-hander has allowed 16 runs on 25 hits, with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks over 27 innings. On Wednesday, Purcey took the loss at home against the Yankees after giving up five runs on seven hits in just four innings. Purcey - in his rookie season — has never faced the Rays.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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(Box Score)

After three games away from the Trop, the Rays came home and did something they’re not used to doing: they lost. But, considering the relative success the Rays have had against Doc Halladay in the past, it was only a matter of time before he finally stymied their bats.

Ouch:  Dioner Navarro left the game in the 6th inning thanks to cramping in both hamstrings. It’s uncertain whether he will play tonight or not.

On the one hand, it’s a big loss for the Rays as the pudgy catcher has been a big part of the offense and defense this season, but on the other hand, Navi could probably use a few days off. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.

What happened to James Shields? It’s been a while since we’ve seen a vintage Shields performance, hasn’t it? He was very mediocre again last night; 9 hits and 4 runs later, Shields left trailing another game. He’s got one month to get it straightened back out and become a stopper yet again for down the stretch and in the playoffs.

The Whiff: So, B.J. Upton struck out another 3 times in a game. That’s getting kind of old, isn’t it?

Standings Check: After the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night, Boston is just 3 1/2 games behind the Rays.

That’s right, ladies and gents. Our little Rays are on FOX Saturday Baseball today, taking on the White Sox. It’s a nice change of pace, isn’t it?

Apparently, Scott Kazmir is going to stop worrying about pitch counts and just pitch his game. We can only hope, because the Rays really need the old Kazmir from the first half of the season back. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

What to watch for: All eyes will be on Kid K while the Rays take to the field on national television.

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - Kazmir picked up his ninth win of the season on Sunday night when he held the Rangers to two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out seven. The 24-year-old left-hander has struggled with his mechanics lately and has worked all season with little luck to gain command of his slider, which has historically been his best pitch. Without his slider, Kazmir has relied primarily on a fastball-changeup combination. He is 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox.

Javier Vazquez - On Sunday, for the second straight trip to the mound, Vazquez worked eight innings and dazzled the opposition. The right-hander did not allow a run against Oakland until the eighth inning, ending a stretch of 15 straight scoreless innings. He struck out eight and didn’t issue a walk, giving up four hits in total. Vazquez has yielded a mere nine hits over his past two starts. Vazquez has a 1-1 record with a 2.70 ERA against the Rays this year. He also holds a 6-4 record and a 4.11 ERA in 12 home starts this season.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Javier Vazquez.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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(Box Score)

The offense was plentiful and the pitching good enough as the Rays went into U.S. Cellular Field last night and left with the best record in the American League. Tampa Bay scored 6 runs off of the Chicago bullpen over the final 2 2/3 innings to put this game out of reach, as the power was provided by Carlos Pena, Rocco Baldelli, and Ben Zobrist.

Rocco’s Modern Life: Since his return from the DL, Rocco Baldelli is hitting .300 / .364 / .450. A small sample-size, for sure, but still the kind of numbers you like to see. If he can keep that up, he gives the Rays a good amount of juice in the middle of the order against left-handed pitching.

Bringing the Pena: Carlos has been a house on fire since the All-Star Break, and he clubbed his 26th home run of the season last night just for good measure. Isn’t it amazing that, despite the “disappointing” season he’s put together, he’s still going to hit somewhere between 30 and 35 home runs? You can’t ask for much more from any player.

Edwin works his magic again: Again, Edwin wasn’t great by any means, but he was good enough to get the Rays through 6 innings of 2-run ball. How does he do it? Maybe it’s voodoo magic. I’m not entirely sure.

Grant Balfour… is a beast. What a job coming in when he did to get the two big strikeouts with the tying and go-ahead runs on.

When Jason Hammel throws strikes… he gets guys out. Another scoreless inning in which he threw 11 of 14 pitches for strikes.

After a three-game set against the Angels that could serve as “Playoff Preview, Part 1,” the Rays now take on the White Sox for three games in what can only be dubbed “Playoff Preview, Part 2.” Sure, the White Sox aren’t assured of their postseason spot like the Angels are, but it’s still a potential look at what we might see come October.

Edwin Jackson makes his play for win #10 again this time out, but he’s got a tough task in front of him, as John Danks is one of the better pitchers in the whole league. This could be a tough one for the Rays.

What to watch for: Can the Rays get ANYTHING done on offense against a tough southpaw like Danks?

Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Edwin Jackson - Jackson pitched well on Saturday night against the Rangers, but he came away with his eighth loss of the season. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed just one run on five hits and three walks while striking out six in six innings. If Jackson is locating his 97-mph fastball, his other pitches can work well, particularly his slider. Jackson is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox.

John Danks - In his last start, Danks truly battled to pick up victory No. 7 over his last eight decisions. The left-hander threw 108 pitches in six innings, including an efficient eight-pitch sixth to end his afternoon in Oakland with a flourish. Danks gave up one run on six hits, but he also walked a career-high five and had to pitch out of two bases-loaded jams to avoid a setback. He has found great success in 2008 against Friday’s opponent, posting a 2-0 record and a 0.69 ERA. Over 13 innings against the Rays, Danks has fanned 16 and walked one. He has a 4-4 record with a 3.67 ERA at home this year.

Check out the Rays’ career numbers against John Danks.

View the game preview from Baseball Reference.

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