AL East

New York Yankees Javier Vazquez will face Tampa Bay Rays Matt Garza on Saturday night at the Trop.

Let's take a look at this match-up:

Tampa Bay Rays: Matt Garza (11-5)

With Saturday’s trade deadline looming, teams are looking either to bolster already formidable rotations and lineups or to move the present and build for the future. It happens every season in baseball.

The Yankees and Rays enter this weekend's three-game series in St. Petersburg in pretty much the same position they've been all season—holding the two best records in baseball.

But this set ends in August, and games become a little bit more important in August.

New York (65-36) currently holds a two-game advantage over Tampa Bay (63-38) in the American League East, but that could all change if the Rays pull off a sweep.

Let's take a look at the pitching matchups.

Friday night, the New York Yankees are at Tropicana Field to face the Tampa Bay Rays, and it will be a true battle of the young guns on the mound.

Since pitching and defense will dictate the outcomes of all three games, the match-ups on the mound will set the tone. Let's look at the Friday night's pitchers.

I don’t know what they’re smoking up in Canada, but according to George King of the NY Post , the Toronto Blue Jays have asked the Yankees for Joba Chamberlain or, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, their top prospect, Jesus Montero , in exchange for reliever Scott Downs .

Josh Tomlin, an Indians pitcher making his Major League debut, held the Yankees hitless through the first three innings, faced the minimum through six, and beat the Yankees 4-1, all while holding Alex Rodriguez at 599 home runs.

Here are some notes:

by Matt Webb

With baseball's trade deadline fast approaching, rumors are swirling about potential deals, as they are every year in Boston.

The Red Sox Sox currently sit 5.5 games behind Tampa Bay for the wild card spot and 7.5 behind the Yankees in the AL East.

The gap is by no means insurmountable, and the Sox would sure benefit from a big bat or depth at, well, virtually every spot on the roster.

Not Tanyon Sturtze, Bryan Rekar, Albie Lopez, Esteban Yan, Jorge Sosa, John Halama, nor Paul Abbott were able to do it. Dewon Brazelton, Casey Fossom, Tim Corcoran, and Jim Morris weren’t able to do it either.

The feat I am talking about is throwing a no-hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays. Up until last night, no pitcher was able to throw a no-hitter for the Rays, but then Matt Garza took the mound on Monday night.

Matt Garza faced 27 Detroit Tigers hitters Monday night and rendered them hitless, recording the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history.

The Rays have been on the wrong side of two no-hitters this season, including Dallas Braden’s perfect game May 9 in Oakland.

Detroit rookie standout Brennan Boesch kept Garza from accomplishing the same feat, working the count full and drawing a walk with one out in the second inning. Garza got Ryan Raburn to ground into a double play three pitches later to get out of the inning unscathed.