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Surging Yankees begin key series with red-hot Jays

The New York Yankees hope to keep the pressure on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East this evening, when they open a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

With the help of the Blue Jays, who enter this series on the heels of taking three straight from Boston, the Yankees have managed to pull within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox for the division lead. It's the closest they have been to first place since trailing the Red Sox by one game after play on April 19.

It's also a far cry from May 29, when after a loss to Toronto, New York found itself eight games below .500 at 21-29 and tied for the worst record in the division, 14 1/2 games behind the Red Sox.

Even if the Yankees don't catch Boston and claim their 10th consecutive AL East crown, they should be in the postseason for the 13th straight year. New York holds a 5 1/2 game edge on the Detroit Tigers in the race for the AL wild card.

New York won for the fourth straight time and the 12th time in its last 14 games on Wednesday. Andy Pettitte picked up win No. 200 in his career to help the Yankees complete a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 2-1 win.

The Yankees have a magic number of five for clinching a postseason berth.

Getting the call tonight for the Bronx Bombers will be AL Cy Young Award candidate Chien-Ming Wang, who is 18-7 with a 3.82 ERA. Wang, though, was roughed up by the Red Sox on Saturday, as he was charged with his first loss since August 8 after allowing five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Wang has lost his last two starts to the Blue Jays and is 3-2 lifetime against them with a 4.74 ERA in six starts.

While Wang is vying for his first Cy Young, Toronto will pin its hopes tonight on the 2003 winner of the award in right-hander Roy Halladay, who has been brilliant over his career against the Yankees. Halladay has faced New York 25 times (23 starts) and is 10-4 with a 3.10 ERA. In his last 11 starts against the Yankees, he is 7-1 with a 2.15 ERA.

Halladay, who will be trying for his first road win since June 25 tonight, won for the first time in six starts on Saturday against Baltimore, as he allowed a run and five hits in seven innings.

Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells will miss the series this weekend and will sit out the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. He is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday.

The Yankees have won eight of their 14 matchups with the Jays this season and are 42-27 in the series since the start of the 2004 campaign. Toronto has also struggled in New York, where it is just 5-10 in its last 15 visits.

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