The AL wild-card race just became uncrowded

TAMPA, Fla. – Just a few weeks ago, the American League wildcard race involved a few teams. Now, things have become exciting and complicated for other clubs. The once mighty New York Yankees, the titular head of the AL East division, faltered, and that enabled teams like Toronto, Boston, and Seattle to jump ahead.

More teams joined in the mix, and Kansas City, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay attempt to remain aggressive and relevant. Of those clubs, the Tampa Bay Rays put themselves back in the conversation. On Aug. 27, the Rays were five games under .500 and likely establishing tee times for early October.

Coming in the second game of a four-game set with Cleveland at home Sept. 5, the Rays had won seven straight, put themselves two games over 500, and placed directly in any postseason discussion.

During this streak, the Rays went from 7.5 games out of wild-card contention to just two games out. At this point, the mood in the Tampa Bay clubhouse is quiet optimism and a strong attempt to keep things in perspective.

While playing well at the moment, outfielder Josh Lowe describes the environment as “contagious,” but cautions the approach is simply day-to-day.

“The pitching has helped a ton and obviously, the hitting has been really consistent,” said Rays’ starting pitcher Shane Baz. “Pitching-wise, we’ve dug our feet in and decided that was enough of the crappy outings and that’s part of the game. The guys are locked in here the last couple of weeks and stuck to the plan as best we can.”

As the Rays seven-game winning was halted with a 7-1 defeat to Cleveland, Baz’s observation was made.

During the subsequent three games of that weekend series with the Guardians, Tampa Bay proceeded to drop two more in a row. That put the Rays 4.5 games out of wild-card contention on Sept. 7 with 19 games to play. Of the 19 remaining on the schedule, 13 engage teams destined for postseason play. With three with the Cubs, three with the Red Sox and seven with Toronto, the Rays could make significant progress. Then again, the odds suggest this team is destined to complete a .500 season at near 82-82.

That could conclude the second straight underachieving baseball campaign in central Florida. Having qualified for post-season play five consecutive seasons (2019-2023), Tampa Bay is on the verge of a consecutive sub-.500 season. The last time that happened was in 2016 and 2017.

To make that quantum leap, the Rays must step past Texas, Seattle, Cleveland and Kansas City to reach the promised land. Without quantifying power in the middle of the lineup and an inconsistent starting rotation, the prospect of playing October baseball remains distant.

“The vibes are pretty good, right now,” said reliever Garrett Cleavinger during the recent Cleveland series at home. “Any time you’re playing good baseball, it will be a good feeling in the locker room. The guys are excited and having fun. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

Cleavinger’s comments were made just as the Rays’ three-game losing streak to Cleveland commenced. Now, the mood could best be described as changed and the task at hand formidable.

Next … in their attempt to climb back into any post-season conversation, the Rays hit the road for six straight in Chicago. First up, the White Sox. In the series opener on the south side, look for righty Adrian Houser (8-4, 3.01) to face his old mates and right-hander Yoendrys Gomez (3-2, 4.79) goes for the Sox. In the middle game, Ryan Pepiot (11-10, 3.59) goes for Tampa Bay and the Chicago starter is undecided. For the series finale on Thursday afternoon, it’s lefty Ian Seymour (3-1, 2.89) opposing Shane Smith (5-7, 3.95). Then, off to the north side and three with the Cubs. The Rays return to Steinbrenner for their final home stand of the season and engage four with the Blue Jays and a three-game weekend set against Boston.

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