Chien-Ming Wang has been on a roll, and the Yankees are going to need it to continue this week.

The Series of the Week – Early Edition
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays – Monday through Wednesday

Don’t look now, but the Blue Jays have climbed back into the Wild Card race, just five back of the lead heading into Monday’s game with the Yankees. The Yankees are of course one of the teams that the Blue Jays will need to leap over, so this series is huge for them. The Yankees need to keep winning to stay in the thick of things too, and burying the Blue Jays would be an added bonus.

The marquee matchup of this series comes on Wednesday, as Chien-Ming Wang (13-5, 3.49) faces off with Roy Halladay (12-5, 4.13). Wang has won ten of his last eleven decisions, but his only loss during that stretch came against the Blue Jays. Blame a lack of run support for that loss, though – Wang held the Blue Jays to seven hits and three earned runs while walking none and striking out three in 7 1/3 innings. In five career starts against the Blue Jays, Wang is 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

Halladay has not been his usual dominating self since returning from the disabled list, and just three of his last six starts has been a quality start. However, one of those three did come against these same Yankees, as he allowed five hits, three walks, and one earned run in seven innings, and he struck out six in the win.

The hitter to watch for the Yankees is Jason Giambi, who is expected to return from the disabled list this week. Giambi was last seen in the majors on May 30, and he was not exactly crushing the ball when he was last in the bigs. Through 149 at-bats, Giambi has a .262 batting average, seven home runs, and 23 RBI, far from the monster numbers he put up the last two seasons, but the Yankees are going to need a Giambi a lot closer to last year and a lot less like this year if they are going to compete.

Speaking of first basemen coming back from the disabled list, the Blue Jays spotlighted hitter here is Lyle Overbay, who has struggled since his return from the DL. While not a huge power threat, Overbay did hit 22 home runs last year, but he has just eight this year and none since returning on July 12. Overbay finished July hitting just .263, and he has just one hit in his 12 at-bats so far this month. If the Blue Jays are going to work their way back into contention, they are going to need to get their first baseman hitting.

Series of the Week – Weekend Edition
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies

Both teams have climbed back into the race, and both would like to knock the other out this weekend. The Braves went all out as the trade deadline closed in, acquiring Octavio Dotel from the Braves to boost their pen and acquiring the best player on the market, Mark Teixeira, to beef up their lineup. First base had been an offensive vacuum on the Braves and it has now become a great strength. Meanwhile, the Phillies picked up Kyle Lohse. Yes, if I were a Phillies fan, I would be ticked too.

The series kicks off Friday with two young guns, Chuck James (9-8, 3.84) for the Braves and Cole Hamels (12-5, 3.57) for the Phillies. James has struggled of late, lasting just five innings in each and allowing four earned runs in both. Fortunately for James, he was the beneficiary of some nice run support, as he is 1-0 in those two starts. His control has definitely been an issue of late, as over his last ten games, James has just 35 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings while walking 22.

Hamels is just 4-3 over his last ten games, but his control has certainly not been part of the problem, as he has 52 strikeouts and just 13 walks over 63 innings. Only five of his ten starts has been a quality start though, with three starts where he was knocked out with five or fewer innings completed. Hamels has all the potential in the world to be a future ace, but this year he is experiencing the struggles that come with being a young pitcher this year.

The spotlight hitter for the Braves is Kelly Johnson. After his hot start, he fell off sharply in May and June, but he is red-hot again, hitting .356 in July and .421 so far this month. Johnson has a seven-game hitting streak going that has seen his batting average rise 14 points in that short time. While not a prolific stolen base threat, he also has a couple of swipes during that streak, his first since July 5.

The hitter to watch for the Phillies is Tadahito Iguchi, who has been on fire since coming over to the National League. Through his first nine games, Iguchi is hitting .361 with one home run, three RBI, and seven runs. While he is going to fall short of his 18 home runs last year, Iguchi is going to be a nice burst of power to NL-only players that scoop him up this weekend.