Baltimore, MD (My Sportsbook) - With home field throughout the playoffs still up for grabs, the New York Yankees have plenty to play for this evening when they battle the Baltimore Orioles in the first of their regular season-ending three-game set.

New York had its game against Tampa Bay rained out on Thursday, allowing the winning Oakland Athletics to pull within a half game for the best record in the AL. The Yankees will only have to make up the game on Monday if they trail Oakland by a half contest following this series.

New York has won two straight and five of its last six overall. The Yankees registered a 4-3 win over the Devil Rays in their last played game. Alfonso Soriano's second double of the game knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.

Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored for New York. The Yankees reached the 100-win plateau for the 16th time in franchise history and for the first time since their 114-victory season of 1998.

Soriano, who was 2-for-5, is still one homer shy of becoming the fourth player with 40 homers and 40 stolen bases. He now has 51 doubles this season, two shy of Don Mattingly's Yankee record of 53 in 1986.

Jeff Weaver (11-11) earned the win with three innings of two-hit ball in relief of Roger Clemens. Mariano Rivera, in his third appearance since coming off the disabled list this past weekend, retired the side in order in the ninth for his 28th save.

Clemens went the first five innings and surrendered three runs -- all in the first -- on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Baltimore has been one of the worst teams in the major leagues over the final two months of the season. The Orioles have won just four of their last 33 games overall, including a 5-1 loss to Toronto on Thursday.

Larry Bigbie had a hit and drove in the sole run for Baltimore, as the Orioles dropped their ninth consecutive game.

Pat Hentgen (0-4) has now lost all four of his outings since returning from a year's worth of rehab following Tommy John surgery. In six innings of work, Hentgen was tagged for five runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out one.

Baltimore will send veteran righthander Sidney Ponson to the hill this evening. Ponson has been struggling with three straight losses, including a defeat to Boston last week. The righty was hammered for 10 hits and seven runs over 6 1/3 innings, while fanning six and walking two.

Ponson has registered an 0-2 record with a 4.36 ERA versus the Yankees this year. For his career, Ponson has tallied a 2-6 mark with a 4.73 ERA against New York.

The native of Aruba has been solid at home, going 4-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 15 contests.

New York will answer with veteran southpaw Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has won four straight starts and eight of his last nine decisions since August 25. The lefty was stellar in his last outing, allowing just five hits and two runs over seven innings against Detroit. He fanned six and walked two in the winning effort.

Pettitte has been solid against the Orioles, registering a 1-1 mark with a 3.29 ERA. For his career, Pettitte is 13-4 with a 3.99 ERA versus Baltimore.

Pettitte has been decent on the road this year, going 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 contests.

New York owns a 10-6 advantage in the series between these clubs in 2002. The Yankees are 23-11 against the Orioles since the start of last season, including 11-5 at Camden Yards.