Why the Yankees and Red Sox should fear resurgent Tampa Bay Rays

OAKLAND – As the baseball world was engrossed – or not – by a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox four-game series that yielded a split and had three of the games televised nationally over the weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays were quietly making inroads in the division race.

The Rays, who closed to within two games of AL East-leading Boston after beating the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Monday night, were not moving in stealth fashion merely because they started the second half of the season on a West Coast trip, about 2,500 miles away from home.

That’s just how they operate. When you play in a mid-sized 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. We don’t really care about who’s paying attention or not. 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 most-improved team in the majors, by winning percentage, and a burgeoning scoring force. These are no longer the offense-starved Rays of years past, when they relied on an ample supply of pitching and hoped to scratch out three or four runs.

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Tampa Bay set a franchise record with 216 home runs last year but ranked next-to-last in the league in scoring at 4.15 runs a game, as 63% of its homers came with the bases empty. This year’s edition is on pace for 240 home runs, and although its percentage of solo shots remains 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 a game – their highest total 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 the postseason 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. And we take our walks. 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 already set single-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 of his 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.

That should be enough to get the attention of the division’s big names. Tampa Bay currently holds a 1½-game lead over the Yankees for the first wild-card spot, though it’s a bit early to start doing any postseason math, what with 68 games left in the season, including 10 against New York and eight vs. Boston.

The more immediate focus may be getting help for the bullpen, which ranks just 11th in the league 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, with a lefty a particularly glaring need.

On Monday, Alex Colome looked shaky in allowing a ninth-inning run to raise his ERA to 3.80 – a less-than-stellar figure for a closer – but still converted his 27th save in 31 chances.

Fortunately, 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 was highly encouraging, throwing throwing 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.

He appears to have pressed the right button, and a return to his form of last season (10-6, 3.69 ERA) would add another valuable weapon to a club that seems to have a potent enough arsenal to stay in the race, whether anybody notices or not.

“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.’’

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