Texas uses formula similar to Rays'

It was a mere two seasons ago that the Rays moved their lone home series against Texas to Disney's Wide World of Sports for the sake of marketing.

A three-game midweek series against the nearly-as-lousy Rangers at Tropicana Field probably wouldn't have put a total of 30,000 fans in the seats, so it was as good a choice as any to play off-campus. In addition to picking up three wins, the Rays elbowed their way into a bit of buzz with that gimmick before they and their opponents carried on with their latest losing seasons.

Times have changed a bit since then. The Rangers begin a weekend visit to the Trop tonight as one of two teams the Rays are chasing for a playoff berth, thus raising the stakes immeasurably for this set and Tampa Bay's return trip to Arlington a month from now.

"It's going to be a huge series," said Scott Kazmir, the Rays' starter tonight.

Coming off four consecutive losing seasons, the Rangers have turned it around this year by basically reversing their usual all-offense, no-pitching approach.

They entered Thursday's game at Minnesota having allowed only 521 runs, the fewest in the American League, and were just ahead of the Rays with a 4.18 team ERA. And last weekend against the Red Sox, they stole a club-record eight bases in a game, making Jason Varitek's life as miserable as the Rays did in posting the same steal total against Boston on May 3.

"They're playing a different game - they're not just trying to pound you," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "They're doing more things creatively on the bases. They can still hit a home run, but I think the difference is their pitching and defense has made them a different ballclub."

A ballclub following a new formula that bears plenty of similarities to the one the Rays used to lift themselves out of the depths last season.

Pena left out

Sometimes, the numbers make the lineup decisions for you. That was how Maddon characterized starting Willy Aybar at first Thursday night and giving Carlos Pena the night off against Orioles rookie LHP Brian Matusz.

Yes, Maddon wanted to get Aybar a start, but the decision was driven mostly by Matusz's lefty-killing tendencies. In three big-league starts entering Thursday, he hadn't allowed a hit to any of the left-handed batters he'd faced, while righties had raked him at a .436 clip.

Sure, the sample size is small, but the balance was similarly one-sided in the minors this year. Between High-A and Double-A, Matusz held lefties to a .164 average while righties hit .229, and he struck out and induced grounders from lefties at a higher rate.

"Willy needs to play a game to keep him fresh," Maddon said, "and Carlos is swinging the bat well. So maybe by keeping him away from a certain lefty it might help him tomorrow."

Odds and ends

Akinori Iwamura returned to action for Triple-A Durham on Thursday night after leaving Tuesday's game early with muscle fatigue. Iwamura was the DH and went 1-for-1 with three walks, scoring twice. He is expected to play in the field today. ... All 12 of Pat Burrell's homers this season have come against right-handed pitchers. Eight of them have been solo shots.

Marc Lancaster