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Key division series highlight a full Tuesday slate as the Red Sox and Rays resume their battle for first place in the American League East while the Angels and A's collide in a matchup of West division leaders. Tampa Bay sends Matt Garza to the mound, fresh off his one-hitter versus the Marlins. He'll face streaking knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. The Angels and A's should provide a compelling pitching matchup as well, pitting Oakland ace Rich Harden against 2008 breakout performer Ervin Santana.

Time	Visitors		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP		Home		L/R	Record	ERA	WHIP
7:00 p.m.		Kyle Kendrick	R	7-3	4.59	1.54	@		Charlie Morton	R	1-1	4.24	1.35
7:05 p.m.		Luke Hochevar	R	5-5	4.60	1.51	@		Radhames Liz	R	2-0	5.70	1.39
7:05 p.m.		Kevin Millwood	R	5-4	5.08	1.68	@		Joba Chamberlain	R	2-2	2.03	1.27
7:10 p.m.		Tim Wakefield	R	5-5	3.89	1.25	@		Matt Garza	R	6-4	3.76	1.21
7:10 p.m.		Zach Duke	L	4-5	3.99	1.49	@		Edinson Volquez	R	10-3	2.08	1.21
7:10 p.m.		Collin Balester	R	0-0	0.00	0.00	@		Mark Hendrickson	L	7-6	5.93	1.56
8:05 p.m.		Clayton Kershaw	L	0-2	4.36	1.67	@		Wandy Rodriguez	L	3-3	2.58	1.15
8:10 p.m.		Nate Robertson	L	6-6	5.23	1.52	@		Scott Baker	R	4-2	3.57	1.21
8:11 p.m.		Cliff Lee	L	11-1	2.34	1.04	@		John Danks	L	5-4	2.62	1.23
8:15 p.m.		Tony Armas Jr.	R	0-0	0.00	0.00	@		Todd Wellemeyer	R	7-2	3.46	1.19
9:05 p.m.		Josh Banks	R	2-2	2.33	1.11	@		Aaron Cook	R	10-5	3.64	1.32
9:40 p.m.		Jeff Suppan	R	4-6	4.05	1.54	@		Randy Johnson	L	4-6	4.94	1.44
10:05 p.m.		Rich Harden	R	5-0	2.15	1.09	@		Ervin Santana	R	9-3	3.32	1.07
10:10 p.m.		Jesse Litsch	R	8-4	3.82	1.21	@		Ryan Rowland-Smith	L	2-1	2.66	1.16
10:15 p.m.		Jason Marquis	R	6-4	4.96	1.52	@		Matt Cain	R	4-6	4.44	1.36

All times are ET.

Out
Coco Crisp, OF, Red Sox (suspension)
Michael Cuddyer, OF, Twins (finger)
Aaron Hill, 2B, Blue Jays (concussion)
Cesar Izturis, SS, Cardinals (hamstring)
Reed Johnson, OF, Cubs (back)
Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox (oblique)
Gerald Laird, C, Rangers (hamstring)
Kazuo Matsui, 2B, Astros (hamstring)
Lastings Milledge, OF, Tigers (groin)
Trot Nixon, OF, Mets (groin)
Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers (oblique)
Alfonso Soriano, OF, Cubs (hand)

Day-to-day
David DeJesus, OF, Royals (ribs)
Yunel Escobar, SS, Braves (shoulder)
Omar Infante, 2B, Braves (hamstring)
Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves (quad)
Juan Pierre, OF, Dodgers (knee)
Ryan Sweeney, OF, A's (ankle)
Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins (ankle)

Hitters: Baltimore's Luke Scott is one of the American League's hottest hitters. He hit .333 BA/.384 OBP/.705 SLG with seven home runs in June and has multihit games in each of his past four starts. … Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez and New York's Jorge Posada might be behind the plate Tuesday, but neither has a good history with his opposing starter. Posada is just 1-for-10 versus Rangers starter Kevin Millwood, while Pudge has just one hit in 16 tries against the Twins' Scott Baker. … Jason Kubel's ownership in ESPN leagues is on an upward trend now that he's recovering from a slow start, but don't expect to see the lefty slugger in the Twins' lineup Tuesday. Kubel, who suffers the occasional benching versus lefties anyway, is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts against Tigers starter Nate Robertson. … Use only the absolute must-start hitters on both sides of the anticipated pitching duel between Rich Harden of the A's and the Angels' Ervin Santana. Harden has allowed one run in his past three starts combined, striking out 25 batters while walking just five. Santana, meanwhile, is 8-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 12 career outings against the A's. The Oakland roster has hit just .197 and slugged .236 against Santana. Bobby Crosby (1-for-17), Kurt Suzuki (0-for-9) and Mark Ellis (6-for-29) are frequent Santana victims. … Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion missed a few games with back spasms but went 2-for-3 with a home run in his return to the lineup Sunday. Encarnacion hit .288/.405/.606 in June and should be active in all formats Tuesday against oft-laboring Pirates lefty Zach Duke. … Randy Johnson simply owns Mike Cameron. The Brewers center fielder is 2-for-29 with 18 strikeouts versus Arizona's Tuesday starter.

Pitchers: ESPN owners have shown good judgment in not overreacting to Rays starter Matt Garza, who is owned in less than 20 percent of leagues despite tossing a one-hitter in his last turn. The promising but inconsistent Garza shouldn't be trusted in shallow leagues against good offenses, such as the Red Sox's offense on Tuesday. … Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez is owned in barely half of ESPN leagues despite a 2.30 June ERA. In his most recent outing, Rodriguez struck out nine Rangers without issuing a walk in eight innings of one-run ball. … Dodgers rookie Clayton Kershaw is owned in nearly a third of ESPN leagues, but with his control struggles, there's really no reason to believe that he'll be an asset in mixed formats anytime soon. In the six starts since his solid debut, Kershaw has walked 21 batters in 27 innings while failing to complete the sixth frame even once. … Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer appears to have recovered from his elbow inflammation, as he shut out the Tigers for five innings in his return to the rotation last week. … Padres starter Josh Banks is owned in nearly a quarter of ESPN leagues thanks to some unsustainable early success. He shouldn't be used away from Petco Park, and certainly not in Coors Field on Tuesday. Aaron Cook also should be benched for all starts in Coors, where his career ERA is more than a half run higher than it is on the road.

Hitters: With Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui on the disabled list, replacement designated hitter Wilson Betemit could become a nice power source. Betemit slugged .556 in June and has hit safely in each of his four starts since Matsui was placed on the DL on June 23. He took Oliver Perez deep Sunday in the Mets left-hander's sharpest outing of the year. … Lefty-killing first baseman Ryan Garko is one of only a few Cleveland hitters recommended against red-hot White Sox starter John Danks, who has allowed just one run in his past three starts combined. Garko posted a .914 OPS versus lefties last year and is 5-for-12 with two home runs off Danks. … Dmitri Young is in the Nationals' lineup every day thanks to injuries to corner infielders Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman. On Tuesday against Mark Hendrickson, Young should be in all lineups, as he's crushing left-handed pitching at a .317 BA/.404 OBP/.610 SLG clip this season. He's 8-for-11 with three doubles and a home run against the highly flammable Marlins southpaw. … Brian Giles is a top pickup Tuesday. The Padres outfielder is hitting .300 and has posted an OPS north of .800 each month this season. Like most hitters, Giles loves Coors Field, where he boasts a .288/.404/.550 career mark. He also loves Rockies starter Aaron Cook; Giles is 15-for-36 with no strikeouts against him. Teammate Kevin Kouzmanoff also should be claimed in time for the Coors Field Experience. The Padres third sacker has hit safely in six straight games since returning from a sore back that cost him a week. … Cubs outfielder Jim Edmonds is 6-for-19 with three home runs during the past seven days. He's sure to be in the lineup Tuesday against right-handed Giants starter Matt Cain.

Pitchers: Tim Wakefield is a better bet than his Rays counterpart in Tuesday's clash of American League East leaders. The 41-year-old knuckleballer owns a 2.31 June ERA and has hurled at least seven innings in six consecutive starts, allowing three earned runs or fewer in each. He's also 19-3 versus the Rays. … Minnesota right-hander Scott Baker can be used against Detroit on Tuesday. Baker hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his five starts since returning from a groin injury. He compiled a 3.00 ERA in June and has already tossed 10 innings against the Tigers this year, allowing three runs and seven baserunners. With nemesis Magglio Ordonez (10-for-25) on the shelf, the active Tigers roster is hitting just .189 lifetime off Baker. … Toronto's Jesse Litsch is having a very good year, but the right-hander started to slip a bit last month, ending June with a 5.12 ERA. He finished strong, though, as he tossed eight three-hit innings against the Reds. He still can be used against the weaker offenses like the Mariners' offense. … The identity of Litsch's Seattle counterpart may not be official until near game time. With Felix Hernandez unlikely to take his turn, the Mariners will use a committee of relievers Tuesday. Ryan Rowland-Smith is the likely choice to start, though Roy Corcoran and Mark Lowe are also possibilities. Whoever takes the hill first will not pitch long enough to qualify for the win.

Games in Tampa, Minnesota, Seattle, Houston and Arizona are always weatherproof. Rain throughout the Northeast could threaten American League contests in Baltimore and New York, but the forecast for the rest of MLB Nation calls for clear skies.

Will Harris is a fantasy baseball and college football analyst for ESPN.com