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Yankees-Rays Preview

Jul 30, 2010 - 5:17 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

New York (64-36) at Tampa Bay (62-38), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Alex Rodriguez's elusive quest for his 600th homer has shifted to a sold-out Tropicana Field for a showdown between the two best teams in baseball.

Rodriguez looks to avoid an eighth consecutive game without the milestone hit as the New York Yankees try to end the Tampa Bay Rays' six-game win streak Friday night.

The three-time AL MVP failed to homer in Cleveland, going 3 for 17 as New York (65-36) won three of four. He went 1 for 4 with three RBIs in Thursday's 11-4 win.

"We're winning, so this is fun," Rodriguez said. "I'm focusing on something more important: a pennant race."

Homerless since he went deep last Thursday against Kansas City, Rodriguez again tries to become the seventh player to reach 600 in what is sure to be a heated atmosphere. The Yankees have won 17 of 22, and lead the Rays (63-38) by two games in the AL East race.

This is New York's first trip to Florida since owner George Steinbrenner, who resided in Tampa, died of a heart attack July 13. The Boss had been planning to see his team play in person this weekend for the first time since opening day at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees co-chairmen Hal and Hank Steinbrenner are expected to be in attendance for this series in which all three games will be sold out. It's the first time the Rays will have three consecutive home sellouts.

"I'm sure there's going to be a vibe," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "They're playing well. We're playing well. It's going to be interesting. I know we're going to be excited to play."

Rodriguez is 4 for 8 with two homers against Tampa Bay starter Wade Davis (8-9, 4.32 ERA), who has posted a 2.11 ERA in winning his last three starts. Davis is looking forward to facing the defending World Series champions.

"Every series is important, but this is a big series for us to go out and win some games against them to stay up there with them," Davis told the Rays' official website. "If we can do that, then we'll be in a good situation."

The right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA in two starts against New York this year.

The Rays are hoping that outfielders B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist will return after both missed Thursday's 4-2 victory over Detroit. Upton has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, and Zobrist was out due to lower back stiffness suffered in Wednesday's win.

New York gave Jorge Posada a rest Thursday, and will let him catch two of three games this weekend despite his ailing left knee. He will catch Yankees starter Phil Hughes (12-3, 4.04) on Friday.

"They're just giving me an extra day," Posada told the Yankees' official website. "It's a big series coming up."

Hughes will make his first start of the year against the Rays. He's 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA against them in seven appearances, including two starts.

"They've been playing great, and even when we've gotten on some hot streaks, they've stayed right there," said Hughes about Tampa Bay.

The right-hander allowed three runs over 5 1-3 innings to earn a 12-6 victory over Kansas City on Sunday.

These teams have split eight meetings in 2010.