(Best E Casino) - While one ballclub has its respective division pretty much locked up, the other is still battling for positioning. Tonight, the Boston Red Sox will try to stay within striking distance of AL East supremacy when they play the first of three straight games versus the LA Angels of Anaheim.

Boston is only one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East standings and two games ahead of the New York Yankees. It salvaged the finale of a three-game set versus the rival Yankees with a 9-2 victory Sunday night, as Manny Ramirez shook off some pre-game controversy by going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored.

Ramirez has been vehement about the Red Sox not picking up his $20 million option for 2009, and scratched himself from two games last week due to an alleged knee injury. He even suggested that waiving his no-trade clause for the right team is a possibility.

David Ortiz hit a two-run homer and added an RBI single for Boston, which has won four of six games overall and improved to 1-2 on a nine-game homestand. The Red Sox are 37-13 at Fenway Park this season. Boston starter Jon Lester held the Yankees to two runs on nine hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk on Sunday.

Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the nod for Terry Francona's club tonight, and is 11-1 with a 2.63 earned run average in 17 starts this season. The righty is 3-0 over his last five starts, including a July 22 performance at Seattle in which he hurled 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a 4-2 win.

Matsuzaka, who is 6-1 in nine home starts this season, has never faced the Angels in the regular season. Dice-K faced Anaheim in Game 2 of the ALDS last season, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings of his team's 6-3 win.

The Angels own a seemingly-comfortable 10 1/2-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West division, but had their four-game winning streak stopped with Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of a three-game series from Camden Yards.

Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson each drove in a run while starter Ervin Santana was banged up for five runs on seven hits in five-plus innings of work for the Angels, who lost for just the second time in 11 tries. Anaheim is 2-1 on a 10-game road trip and a solid 33-19 as the visitor this season.

It seems that Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver is healthy enough to take the mound in Monday's series opener in Beantown. Weaver exited his previous start on Tuesday against Cleveland with a knot in his right shoulder. He gave up a pair of runs in three innings of a 3-2 victory over the Tribe.

Weaver is 1-0 over his last three outings to improve to 8-8 with a 4.08 earned run average in 20 starts this season. He is 0-2 in five career appearances against the Red Sox, who recorded five runs and 10 hits in five frames off of the right-hander back on April 22 this season at Fenway Park. Weaver did not factor in the outcome of that 7-6 defeat.

The Angels are 5-1 against Boston this season, including a 2-1 record as the guest. The Red Sox went 6-4 in the 2007 season series with the Halos.