Major League Baseball

Remaining schedule favors Jays

Published Sep. 23, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

Rays manager Joe Maddon is well aware of the schedule.

The Yankees, on the other hand, play their final nine games against teams with winning records, hosting the Red Sox for three (MLB on Fox, Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET), then visiting Toronto and Boston.

The Jays lead the league in homers, though they are only eighth in runs. The Red Sox, for all their injuries, need to finish only 6-4 for 90 wins.

“I know how the schedule lines up. I know on paper it looks good,” Maddon said after the Rays pulled within a half-game of the Yankees in the AL East on Thursday night, beating them, 10-3.

“From my perspective, I don’t think anything for granted . . . I’ve been an anti-assumptionist the last several years. I don’t want to start now.”

Fair enough, but the Rays already have ensured that they would win the AL East tiebreaker by taking the season series from the Yankees, 10-8.

The Rangers are 36-41 on the road this season, and their left-handed duo of Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson would be a greater advantage against the Yankees than against the Rays.

Lee is 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA in three starts against the Rays this season. Wilson also was not effective in his only start against the Rays, allowing five runs — three earned — in five innings.

The Rays overall are a stunning 35-18 when the opponent starts a left-hander, including two recent wins in games started by the Yankees’ ace lefty, CC Sabathia.

Ah, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Ten games to go.

Don’t want to be an assumptionist.

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