Cleveland @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 9, 2010 ) Cleveland 9, Tampa Bay 3
The race for second place in the AL East could be just as important as the battle for the pennant.
The Tampa Bay Rays have seen that things can change in a hurry. They once led the Boston Red Sox by 8 1/2 games in the standings before a long drought knocked them into third place in the division - behind both the New York Yankees and the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay hopes to build the wild-card lead before the All-Star break next week as they play host to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday at St. Petersburg, Fla.
Saturday's starter Matt Garza made a rare relief appearance on Wednesday and earned the save in the Rays' 6-4 win over the Red Sox. He allowed a hit and a walk in the inning before getting Kevin Youkilis to line out to center field to end the game.
It was Garza's first career save and first relief appearance since 2007.
Garza has won his last two decisions but was knocked out of the game by the Red Sox in his last start. He allowed four runs on seven hits in just three innings but did not figure in the decision.
Garza is just 1-4 lifetime against Cleveland and has allowed seven home runs in 37 innings.
The Indians hope to unleash the long ball again Saturday. Cleveland cracked three home runs amongst its 13 hits in Friday's 9-3 win. The victory ended the Indians' three-game skid and snapped Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak.
Matt LaPorta returned to the lineup and chipped in with three hits. LaPorta had missed three straight games after taking an inadvertent elbow to the side of the head.
Jhonny Peralta homered and had three hits and three RBIs in Friday's victory.
The Rays got a home run from Carlos Pena, his team-leading 18th of the season.
Former reliever Aaron Laffey starts for Cleveland. Laffey has started his last three appearances going 1-1 over that time. He has made 20 relief appearances on the season with five holds and a 5.18 ERA.
Laffey's role the rest of the season is a mystery. Rumors continue to circulate on the future of pitcher Jake Westbrook, who is in the final year of a three-year, $33 million contract.
Westbrook missed the entire 2009 season after elbow reconstruction surgery and has been inconsistent this year posting a 5-5 mark with a 4.75 ERA.
If Westbrook is indeed traded, Laffey could start for the rest of the season. Although he hasn't gone more than six innings in any of his three starts, the Indians feel he can go deep in games the more work he gets.
A 25-year-old left-hander, Laffey went 7-9 in 2009 making 19 starts and posting a 4.44 ERA.