Series Preview | Yankees vs. Rays VI: The end

Beginning tonight, the Yanks and Rays duke it out in the final regular season series of the year. The Yanks can win the season series with one win this week; the best the Rays can do is tie it. Aside from exacting a small measure of revenge against Tampa — who won the season series between these two teams for only the second time in team history last season — this series is essentially completely devoid of meaning for the Yankees, having locked up best record in the AL over the weekend, although with the Rays still clinging to a postseason dream, you can rest assured that the Tampa Bay Tampas will be playing all out until they’re officially eliminated. While you may not see all of your favorite Yankees in game action this week, rest assured that the likes of , and others will stay fresh by taking batting practice against the finest, state-of-the-art pitching machines available.

As these two teams just played last week you probably don’t need a refresher on what the Rays can do, so we’ll dive straight into the pitching match-ups. — who hasn’t started a game since September 12 at Seattle — will apparently not be making a start this week and, as many expected, is being transitioned into the bullpen for the playoffs.

Probable Pitching Match-Ups

In tonight’s opener (7:05pm) we have making his second career start, while will toe the rubber for the Rays. As you’ll recall, the Yankees rather miraculously battled back to beat Shields — who has been their toughest foe this season — last week, although he still managed to limit them to one run through seven before the wheels came off in the eighth.

Tuesday night’s game (7:05pm) has going against . The Rays beat Colon up last Thursday; this will be Colon’s last shot to show the team whether they can trust him with an ALDS start, or whether he’ll be relegated to the bullpen. Hellickson was great against the Yankees last week; I expect he’ll be a tall order once again, especially getting to throw at home.

And the final game of the regular season on Wednesday night (7:05pm) has Question Mark going against . I would think Freddy Garcia will get this start, as it lines him up to pitch Game 3 next Monday. It seems most fans are set on Freddy making that start in the ALDS, especially after the way he handled Boston this past weekend, though whoever ends up in this role will have a very short leash given how massively stacked the Yankee bullpen is going to be. Meanwhile, this game could find the Rays fighting for their playoff lives, so it could end up being quite compelling depending on whether Tampa Bay is still in the race.

Conclusion

So there you have it. The last regular season Series Preview until next spring. I know you’re all shedding a tear. However, there’s no need to worry as we’ll be previewing the heck out of the ALDS this week for all you preview junkies out there.