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Race to the playoffs set for wild final week


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Manuel praises Halladay
Jan. 27: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thinks Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the league and says it would have been nice to have him in his pitching rotation this upcoming year.

Who goes where?: The Rays and Red Sox are going to the playoffs, that much is certain. But the division series matchups aren't set, and the Red Sox can look at their 1-8 record against the Los Angeles Angels as incentive to capture the AL East title that would put them in a series against the White Sox or Twins.

Working in the Red Sox's favor in trying to make up a 1 1/2-game deficit is the fact that the Rays have finished their home schedule — where they have the majors' best record (57-24).

The Rays face a Tuesday double-header in Baltimore, turning that into a four-game, three-day series and forcing phenom David Price to make his first big-league start on Monday. Then they will finish the season with four games in Detroit.

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In contrast, the Red Sox will finish in Fenway — where they are 52-22 — with four against Cleveland and three against New York, already eliminated but certainly hoping to play a spoiler role for the Sox's division-title hopes.

The Rays are 6-4 against the White Sox and 6-3 against the Angels, so there isn't much difference there. But home-field advantage is a decided edge in the Rays' case, so winning the East and matching up against the White Sox or Twins definitely would be beneficial to Joe Maddon's team.

Clinch alert: The Angels and Cubs already have popped the corks, and next up could be the Dodgers, barring anything crazy given they won't face the D-Backs this week.

Either way, the Dodgers' division celebration could come against a hated rival — either at home against the Padres, or in front of Giants fans at AT&T Park on the weekend. Meanwhile, the D-Backs will try to pull off the unexpected with four games in St. Louis, and three at home against Colorado.

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