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Rays Vs. Yankees: Tampa Bay Heads To The Bronx As They Hang On To First Place

James Shield takes the mound to open up a three-game set for the Rays against the Yankees in New York.

June 1, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Hideki Matsui (35) looks up after he hit a 2-run home run in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
June 1, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Hideki Matsui (35) looks up after he hit a 2-run home run in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

After taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays (31-23) sit alone atop the AL East—but not by much. The Rays open up a three-game road series tonight against the New York Yankees (29-24), who are in third in the AL East, just a game-and-a-half back of Tampa Bay. James Shields (6-3, 3.95 ERA) takes the mound for the Rays against Andy Pettitte (2-2, 3.49 ERA).

Shields has lost his last four starts at Yankee Stadium, and he's 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA against New York in 2012. Pettitte dropped his most recent start, a 5-1 loss to the Angels last Tuesday in which he gave up five runs over seven innings. The Rays are 5-5 in their last 10. while the Yankees are 7-3.

The game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and it will be televised on Sun Sports.

Read more about the Rays at DRaysBay. For more in-depth coverage on the other side, visit Yankees blog Pinstripe Alley. Go to Baseball Nation for additional news and notes around the league.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.