IT’S LITTLE BUDGET VS. BIG
No-name Rays won 100 games with one of lowest payrolls
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
The Tampa Bay Rays have won more games than any other team in the American League over the past two seasons, going about their business with a quiet confidence that has the full attention of the Boston Red Sox.
The AL East rivals meet in a best-of-five Division Series that begins tonight at Tropicana Field, with the defending league champion Rays looking to take the first step toward a return to the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers last fall.
With one of baseball’s lowest payrolls and a roster devoid of big names, Tampa Bay wins with a youthful, selfless blend of defense, pitching and timely hitting that’s served the team well in reaching the playoffs three consecutive years.
After dropping four straight to the Red Sox early in the season, Tampa Bay won 11 of the final 15 meetings on the way to claiming its second straight AL East crown
by eight games over bigbudget Boston and the even heavier spending New York Yankees.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-2 at home in the AL wild-card game Tuesday night, advancing to face the Rays.
“We have some experience,” center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said Wednesday before turning his thoughts toward a talented collection of rookies who helped Tampa Bay weather a rash of injuries to win a franchise-record 100 games.
Rookie shortstop Wander Franco has played up to his billing as the top prospect in baseball since hitting a homer in his major league debut against the Red Sox in June. Young pitchers Shane McClanahan and Shane Baz, who’s only been in the majors a few weeks, are slated to start the first two games of the ALDS.
“I still feel like the majority of our roster are guys on league minimum. But, man, we breed them differently over here, I promise you that,” Kiermaier said. “I mean, you got guys like Wander Franco and our starters, depending on who we run out we got guys who can play.”
The Rays showed that a year ago when rookie Randy Arozarena had a record-setting breakout postseason after Tampa Bay rolled to the best record in the AL during the pandemic-shortened, 60game regular season.
“I’ve said it throughout this whole year, we do not have a set lineup. Some guys play more than others. But, you know, man, 1 through 26 — doesn’t matter who we put in there, we’ve had guys that have produced throughout this whole year,” Kiermaier said. “We never relied on one person. There’s a new hero any given day. I think that is just what makes us so fun and dangerous.”
The Red Sox — in the playoffs for the first time since 2018, when they won the World Series — know that all too well.
“I know they won the season series, but if you look at the games, it’s a 1-0 game with a wild pitch in the ninth inning. There was a sun ball at Fenway when we were up 7-1,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.
“I know they’re really good. They have a great team. Coming into the season, a lot of people thought they were the best team in the big leagues. But we feel we have a good team, and we’re here,” he added. “We’ll show up. We’ll play and see where it takes us.”
Making a difference
Nelson Cruz was Tampa Bay’s big acquisition at the July trade deadline. He homered in his debut with the Rays and finished with 13 homers and 36 RBIs in 55 games with Tampa Bay.
“There’s no secret his addition at the deadline (helped us),” Rays manager Kevin Cash said, “and, obviously, Wander coming about the same time has certainly helped our team become better.”