Tampa Bay is 39-24 at home and a league-best 35-23 on the road.
The
Philadelphia Phillies are focusing on overtaking the
Atlanta Braves in the NL East, while the
Tampa Bay Rays are chasing the New York Yankees in the
AL East. However, with about 40 games remaining in the regular season, the Phils and Rays had wild-card leads entering weekend action.
Charlie Manuel's Phils are entering a soft spot in their schedule for the next seven days. They host the NL East cellar-dwelling Washington Nationals for a three-game weekend set, and then stay home for four games against a Houston Astros club that is 21-34 on the road.
The two-time NL champion Phillies are getting healthy, as Chase Utley has healed and Ryan Howard is on the mend. The trade for Roy Oswalt places him with Roy Halladay, and that's a pair of aces. Cole Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, is pitching better than his record indicates.
However, there still is a question in Philadelphia's bullpen where Brad Lidge has been extremely inconsistent. The hitters can be streaky, scoring a bunch of runs one game and then suddenly getting shut out.
Philadelphia is 40-21 at home, 10-5 in extra innings, 19-12 in one-run affairs and has a plus-71 run differential (571-500).
The San Francisco Giants entered the weekend one game behind the Phillies in the Wild Card race. The immediate schedule is not as kind to the Giants as it is to the Phils.
Bruce Bochy's Giants must travel to St. Louis this weekend for a three-game series against a St. Louis Cardinals club that is one game behind them in the Wild Card hunt. The Giants then host the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds for three games starting Monday. The Reds entered the weekend with six-game winning streak, tops in the majors.
Rookie Buster Posey has energized the offense, along with resurgent newcomer Pat Burrell. Aubrey Huff is having a season that may reward him with the comeback-player award.
Though Huff has never reached the postseason, he is leading the team in batting average (.292), home runs (20) and RBI (68). General manager Brian Sabean recently brought in Jose Guillen hoping to end the Giants' six-year playoff drought.
San Francisco's starting pitching must improve down the stretch. Giants' starters recently went 14 straight outings without recording a victory.
The Giants are 37-23 at home, 31-31 on the road, 10-6 in extra innings and 22-18 in one-run games. They also own a plus-61 run differential, outscoring the opposition 528-459.
If the Tampa Bay Rays can't catch the Yankees in the NL East, the Wild Card is a distinct possibility. Joe Maddon's squad entered the weekend with a three-game lead over the White Sox in the Wild Card race.
The Rays are in the midst of a seven-game West Coast swing that will see them play the A's and Angels before returning home for three-game sets against the Red Sox and Blue Jays.
Strong starting pitching, a better-than-expected bullpen and great gloves have enabled the Rays to overcome hitting woes and challenge the Yankees for the majors' best record all season.
However, the Rays have been no-hit twice and one-hit twice. While David Price is already an ace, young right-handers Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis recently went on the disabled list.
Tampa Bay is 39-24 at home and a league-best 35-23 on the road. The Rays are 6-4 in extra innings, 19-21 in one-run affairs and own a whopping plus-144 run differential.