USA TODAY International Edition
Resurgent Rays suddenly a threat in AL East race
Improved offense lifts Tampa Bay into contention
As the baseball world was engrossed by a New York Yankees- Boston Red Sox series that yielded a split and had three of the four games televised nationally last weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays were quietly making inroads in the division race.
The Rays, who closed within two games of American League East- leading Boston after beating the Oakland Athletics 3- 2 on Monday, were not moving in stealth fashion merely because they started the second half of the season on a West Coast trip.
When you play in a midsized market in front of the smallest home crowds in the majors, that’s simply a fact of life.
“It’s nuts that we’re in second place in one of the toughest divisions in baseball and nobody’s saying anything about it,” outfielder Steven Souza Jr. said. “We love to be flying under the radar. One of the unique characteristics about this team is nobody needs to be in the limelight. ... Eventually, somebody’s going to have to pay attention or they’re going to get caught off guard.”
Those assiduously ignoring the Rays are missing the fifth- mostimproved team in the majors, by winning percentage, and a burgeoning scoring force.
Tampa Bay set a franchise record with 216 home runs last year but ranked next- to- last in the AL in scoring at 4.15 runs per game, as 63% of its homers came with the bases empty. This year’s edition is on pace for 240 homers. Although its percentage of solo shots is in the same range ( 61%), the club has raised its batting average and walk rate, leading to increased scoring. The Rays are averaging 4.7 runs — their highest since 2010 and nearly a full run higher than in 2014, which marked the beginning of their three- year spell of missing the playoffs after reaching them four times in six years.
“A lot of guys have realized the type of team we are,” said Logan Morrison, whose 26 homers are tops among five Rays in double figures. “We don’t get thrown out on the bases as much. That helps. ... Yeah, we strike out a lot, but we walk a lot and we hit home runs. That’s what we do.”
Morrison and Souza ( 19) have set season highs in home runs, lending a hand to a typically sturdy starting corps that ranks second in the league in ERA at 3.93.
Rookie Jacob Faria has sparkled since his June 7 debut, going 4- 0 with a 2.00 ERA and completing at least six innings in all seven starts. He joins Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi and Blake Snell in a rotation that has been on a roll, firing quality starts in all four games after the break as the Rays ( 50- 44) have surged to a season- best six games over .500.
The more immediate focus might be getting help for the bullpen, which ranks 11th in the AL with a 4.40 ERA and has blown 16 save chances. Tampa Bay executives are said to be scouring the reliever market ahead of the trade deadline July 31, with a lefty a particularly glaring need.
Fortunately for the Rays, the front office has already complemented the core, with a June trade for former Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, and the club retains significant flexibility for further moves.
As for the players already here, Odorizzi’s outing Monday was highly encouraging, as he threw seven innings of one- hit ball while pitching almost exclusively from the stretch, after a series of rough outings that had him hoping for a reset at the break.
“I think it puts us above the rest if we can all throw like we’re capable of,” said Odorizzi, who improved to 6- 4 with a 4.37 ERA. “There’s been a lot of guys who have been throwing the ball good for us. Faria’s been fantastic, Archer’s been great, so has Cobb. It was on Snell and I to turn it around a little bit.
“The way our offense is going, if our pitching comes around like it’s coming right now, we’re going to be a tough team to beat going forward.”