Guy Rhodes/US Presswire

Alexei Ramirez has been a pleasant surprise for the White Sox since mid-May.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

With the final month of the season in sight, this weekend features a host of intriguing matchups that could impact the pennant chase.

"SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL"

• Dodgers at Phillies 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

Most notable among them, the potential playoff preview matchups between the Rays and White Sox and the Twins and Angels. Minnesota got things off to a good start with an extra-inning road win on Thursday.

In the National League, the Dodgers and Phillies, two teams chasing division leaders, meet.

Best series

• Twins at Angels

After an extra-inning thriller Thursday, the Twins and Angels continue their four-game set in Anaheim. The Twins have not won more than one game in Anaheim in any season since 2003, going 4-11 there from 2004 to 2007.

Torii Hunter may be pressing a bit. He missed making a leaping catch on a Nick Punto fly ball in the 12th-inning Thursday, which turned into a triple, helping the Twins take the lead. Hunter has also struggled against his former team at the plate this season.

Torii Hunter, 2008 vs. Twins
Hits-ABs	3-for-20
HRs	1
RBIs	1
Strikeouts	5
Games	5

Best pitching matchup

• Astros (Roy Oswalt, 11-8) at Mets (Johan Santana, 11-7), Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET

Two of the sharpest pitchers in baseball go head-to-head in the Astros' final visit to Shea Stadium. Oswalt, after some injury issues and early struggles, is 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA in his past seven starts, including a one-hit gem against the Diamondbacks in his most recent outing. Santana has pitched better than his 11-7 record. He's 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in his past nine starts, and is now 53-17 for his career after the All-Star break.

Best of the rest

The Phillies and Dodgers close the weekend on "Sunday Night Baseball." Two newcomers to their teams this season -- the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda and the Phillies' Joe Blanton -- get the start in the finale. It's another newcomer who figures to be the primary topic of discussion. Manny Ramirez has helped the Dodgers' offense considerably since his acquisition at the trade deadline.

Manny Ramirez, 2008 vs. Phillies
BA	.364
HRs	1
RBIs	5
Walks	6
Games	4

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Aug. 20 | Aug. 19 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 17 | Aug. 14 | Aug. 13

ANGELS TRYING TO STAY SHARP AS THEY COAST TOWARD PLAYOFFS

By Fernando Vina, ESPN

It's human nature to let your foot off the gas a little bit and relax when you have a big lead, but the Angels should be able to avoid that with manager Mike Scioscia running things. He's a guy who will keep them in the right frame of mind. I think the hardest thing when you have this type of lead is getting through the dog days of August. The long season is such a grind that, by September, you just naturally feel a lot closer to your ultimate goal. Sometimes you can start to ease off the pedal a little bit toward the end of August if you're not careful, so right now is key and, again, that's where the manager comes in.

With Scioscia at the helm it shouldn't be too much of a problem for them. The Angels are a good team and they buy into his plan. Once they get through this stretch it should be a piece of cake. They have enough experience on their roster with guys like Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero. The addition of Mark Teixeira obviously has been huge for them. But they were already going to win the division. The Angels traded for Teixeira so that they would be able to compete with an offense like the Boston Red Sox even though, now, without Manny Ramirez, they aren't the same Red Sox. But the Angels are looking to win the World Series this year, not just a playoff series or two.

Still, the manager has to do a bit of a juggling act in September with a big lead like this. On one hand, you can afford to give some guys some time off, but you want to be careful not to give them too much time off so they're rusty come October. But Scioscia is smart, and he'll talk to his coaches and make sure the players are rested, but also sharp and ready to go. Specifically, your bullpen needs to be healthy, and the starting rotation should be lined up so when October finally comes, you're ready to roll.