(Sports Network) - The New York Yankees may still be on the outside looking in of the American League postseason picture, but they've certainly started out September playing like a playoff team.

New York will try to complete a three-game sweep of the American League East- leading Tampa Bay Rays when the divisional foes square off again tonight at Tropicana Field.

The Rays entered this set with a five-game lead on second-place Boston in the East standings and a five-game winning streak, but both are no longer intact following the Yankees' victories in the first two matchups. With the Red Sox winning on Tuesday and Wednesday, Tampa Bay's advantage atop the division is now just three games.

New York still remains seven games in back of Boston, which currently occupies the top spot in the AL wild-card race, but has won three in a row following last night's 8-4 triumph. Alex Rodriguez led the way by going 3-for-4 with four RBI and belting the 549th homer of his career.

Rodriguez's two-run blast off Troy Percival in the ninth inning moved the All- Star third baseman past Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and into sole possession of 12th place on baseball's all-time list. The homer had added historical significance, as it triggered the first-ever use of instant replay in major league history to determine whether the ball was foul or fair.

Jason Giambi drove in a run in the win, extending his streak to eight straight games with an RBI, while Yankee relievers Edwar Ramirez, Phil Coke and Brian Bruney combined to throw four scoreless innings of one-hit relief.

Edwar Ramirez (5-1) took over for struggling starter Carl Pavano in the fifth and threw a scoreless frame to get credit for the victory. Pavano was reached for three runs on six hits in four-plus innings.

Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano and Ivan Rodriguez each had an RBI in the win.

Gabe Gross hit a two-run homer for the Rays, who also received RBI doubles from Cliff Floyd and Akinori Iwamura on the night. Tampa starter Edwin Jackson (11-9) was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work en route to the loss.

The Rays, who have yet to be swept at home in a three-game series this season, will turn to Scott Kazmir tonight in hopes of keeping that stat intact.

Kazmir has looked good over his last three starts, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.60 earned run average and 20 strikeouts over that stretch. The hard-throwing lefty is coming off an outstanding showing against Baltimore last Friday, when he yielded just three hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings to gain his 10th win of the season.

The 24-year-old's best work this year has come at the Trop, where Kazmir has amassed an impressive 6-1 record with a 2.30 ERA over 11 home starts.

Kazmir is 3-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Yankees. He got a hard-luck loss the last time he faced New York, back on July 8 at Yankee Stadium, despite allowing just two runs and fanning nine over five innings.

He'll be opposed tonight by Darrell Rasner, who hasn't recorded a victory in any of his last eight starts. The New York right-hander has six no-decisions over that span, including Saturday's outing against Toronto in which he gave up five runs (4 earned) in six innings.

Rasner hasn't won since downing the Blue Jays on July 12 and is just 2-6 with a 5.53 ERA on the road this season.

The 27-year-old is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA over two previous relief appearances against Tampa Bay, although he has yet to face the Rays this year. That win came during September of the 2006 campaign, with Rasner throwing four scoreless innings in that game.

The Yankees hold a 9-5 advantage in this year's season series with Tampa Bay and have won five of the eight meetings between the clubs at Tropicana Field in 2008.