A nine-game, three-city road trip begins tonight in Toronto.
Since the All Star break, the Rays are a disappointing 9-10 including 10-13 in their last 23 games. After taking the finale last night against the Orioles at home to clinch the three-game series, the Rays head on the road to take on the Blue Jays sitting at 58-57. Through 115 games in 2017 the Rays had the exact same record. There is a huge difference in 2018, however.
A year ago, the Rays were very much alive in not only the playoff picture, but the AL East race. Currently, the Rays sit 22.5 games back of the Red Sox in third place in the East. They also are 10 games back of the Athletics for the final wild card spot in the AL. A year ago, only 7.5 games separated them from the division crown and just a single game from the wild card.
Put away the binoculars
Let’s not look ahead. Instead, let’s look at what the Rays have coming up beginning tonight.
Let’s get the weekend started right.#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/QK3wGV6vCU
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 10, 2018
One would think 10 games to make up with 47 left to play is a pretty real possibility, right? Sure it is. They are far from officially eliminated. Only the Mariners and Athletics are above them in the wild card standings. With Seattle seemingly in a downward spiral since the break (8-11 since July 20th) the Rays have to get hot now to have a chance at catching up to either of the teams out west to sniff the wild card.
This nine-game road trip is crucial. Three games this weekend against the fourth place Blue Jays (52-62) is where it begins. Winning series isn’t going to be enough, unfortunately. The Rays are going to have to sweep teams below them and that needs to start this weekend north of the border. The good news here – the Rays are 5-1 against the Jays this season.
New York and Boston await
After Toronto the Rays have their toughest remaining six-game stretch of the season. They’ll face the Yankees and Boston on the road before coming home.
The Rays and Yankees have played some very competitive ballgames all season. The series is tied at 6-6 before the three in New York next week. Their last trip to New York wasn’t pleasant, as they dropped three of four from June 14th-17th. Boston has been an entirely different story. The Rays are 4-9 against the division leaders in 2018. The two teams haven’t faced off since May 22nd-24th at Tropicana Field where the Sox took two of three from the Rays.
So what has to happen?
Something close to a miracle. That’s what has to happen.
Is it impossible? Of course not. If you’ve been watching baseball long enough, you know how crazy the final six weeks of the season can be. Bubble teams (which I’ll consider the Rays) can get hot and make a run. More often than not – they fall short. See 2017 finishing five games short of a playoff spot. It isn’t impossible. And this Rays team is young and hungry. They have players on the roster now fresh off a championship season at Durham a year ago. They know how to win. It’s just going to be a matter of it all coming together now. They can’t afford losing streaks. They can’t afford anymore injuries. Everything has to click and click consistently.
The next nine games will determine the 2018 season’s fate for the Tampa Bay Rays. Head home with anything less than six or seven wins and the margin of error nearly evaporates. Oakland and Seattle need to help out a bit, too. Oakland more importantly as it seems they are the hottest team in the AL since mid-July.
The Angels are a half game behind the Rays, as well. That can’t be overlooked. Allow another team ahead of you and that makes the fight that much harder. Too many other factors come into play with a third team to jump.
Get it done in Toronto first. Get a sweep in Toronto first.
Then tighten the straps and pull those big boy pants up for the big boys of the East.
It’s not impossible. It’s improbable. It’s unlikely.
You can pretty much guarantee it’ll be fun to watch.
