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Jul 4, 2009 - 5:23 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Tampa Bay (44-36) at Texas (42-35), 8:05 p.m. EDT

Halfway through the season, the Tampa Bay Rays aren't in the same position they were in last year, but are still in the hunt in their division. The surprising Texas Rangers, meanwhile, are on top of theirs.

The two contenders will continue their three-game series at Rangers Ballpark on Saturday night as Texas looks for a fourth straight win.

Tampa Bay (44-37) is five games behind its mark at the midpoint of last season, when it held a slim lead atop the powerful AL East and went on to win its first division title and pennant. The Rays are in third place this year, five games behind Boston and three behind the New York Yankees.

While Tampa Bay figured to contend following its first World Series appearance, Texas (43-35) has exceeded expectations to this point. The Rangers, who won 79 games last season, have moved back into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West after winning 3-1 on Friday.

Hank Blalock hit a two-run homer and Tommy Hunter pitched 5 1-3 innings on his 23rd birthday for his first career victory. Frank Francisco earned his 13th save with a perfect ninth as he bounced back after suffering his first two blown saves of the year.

The Rays have lost two straight as their high-powered offense has been stifled. They fell 5-0 on Wednesday at Toronto and managed a season-low three hits Friday.

"We did not have a good game," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We made some mistakes and didn't come up with the clutch hit."

Tampa Bay leads the majors with 443 runs.

Center fielder B.J. Upton is 1 for 6 in the last two losses. He batted .324 with an AL-high 10 doubles, 20 runs scored and a .562 slugging percentage in June to earn AL player of the month honors.

Tampa Bay rookie David Price (2-2, 3.93 ERA) seeks to earn consecutive wins for the first time. He yielded one run and two hits over 6 1-3 innings Sunday in a 5-2 victory over Florida.

"I'm close," Price said. "I'm getting there. I've just got to keep working. It's going to fall in place at some point, and when it does I want to ride the wave as long as possible."

The left-hander issued five walks to bring his season total to 25 over 36 2-3 innings. Price has never faced the Rangers, and isn't worried about the prospect of pitching in 100-degree heat.

"I'm sure they're a little more used to it than we are," he told the Rays' official Web site. "But we'll go about it the same way they do, so it's not going to be any difference."

Derek Holland (1-5, 6.20) will make his seventh major league start for Texas. He fell to 0-4 with a 6.27 ERA in his first six after giving up season highs of seven runs and 13 hits over 5 2-3 innings last Saturday in a 7-3 loss to San Diego.

The left-hander has posted an 8.62 ERA and failed to pitch past the sixth inning in his three home starts this year. He has never faced Tampa Bay.