By Don’t look now, but the Tampa Bay Rays are one game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
I know we are only 16 games into the season, but no one I know or have talked to thought the Rays would even sniff first place at any point this season.
After the three-game sweep of the Yankees at Tropicana Field this weekend, many are starting to change their opinion of this Rays team.
The past is not a predictor of future performance, but it is an encouraging sign for the Rays, as we saw the team combine good pitching with timely hitting that proved to be the recipe for a winning weekend against the Yankees.
Who were the key contributors for the Rays in their sweep of the Yankees?
Let’s start with Chandler Simpson.
Simpson worked on his bunting during the off-season and has practiced it every day. The hard work is starting to pay dividends.
When Simpson, the fastest man in baseball, lays down a bunt, it puts so much pressure on the defense. It doesn’t matter whether the defense is in a perfect position; Simpson will beat it.
Simpson’s speed and his laying down perfect bunts directly led to the Rays’ wins on Friday night in extra innings, and then again on Sunday Afternoon.
Simpson went five for ten against Yankee pitching with a run batted in in Friday’s game. He also had a pair of steals and scored four of the Rays’ 15 runs in the weekend sweep.
Simpson is second in the AL in hitting with a .411 average.
Rays Manager Kevin Cash moved Simpson to the top of the order to take advantage of his speed, and it has paid dividends so far, as Simpson’s bunting and speed were a huge catalyst in two of the Rays’ three wins this weekend.
The Bullpen: After a horrible start to the season, the bullpen has finally settled in, despite some roster shuffling in the pen due to injuries.
There are no words to describe how awful the Rays’ bullpen was in the first 12 games of the season, but it has settled in these last three games.
In twelve and one-third innings of work against New York, the pen gave up seven runs, eight hits, and had 11 strikeouts. Not a grade A performance, but much improved from what we saw the first week of the season.
Before giving up four runs in Sunday’s game, Tampa relievers were 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in their last six games.
Starting Rotation: The rotation has been better than advertised. Drew Rasmussen is 1-0, with a 1.13 ERA. Steven Matz is 3-0 with a 3.94 ERA, but the biggest surprise is Nick Martinez.
After a spring training that he would rather forget, Martinez, along with Rasmussen, has been the Rays’ most consistent starter with a 2.16 ERA, with 11 strikeouts.
The Rays are also learning to play small ball early in the season, helping them to an 8-7 record after 15 games.
They are finding that those infield hits and bunts can create scoring opportunities. You don’t need to swing for the fences every pitch.
With their 5-4 win on Sunday, the Rays finally beat an old nemesis in Max Fried. The Rays scored three runs off Fried in eight innings of work.
Before Sunday’s outing, Max Fried was 5-0 with a 0.77 ERA in five career starts against Tampa.
The Rays will now begin a six-game road trip to Chicago and Pittsburgh. Shane McClanahan will start for the Rays on Tuesday.
The White Sox have promoted promising left-hander Noah Schultz, and he will make his MLB debut on Tuesday night.
—The Rays have the most infield hits of any team with 25, and tied with Arizona for most bunt hits with five.
—Since 2018, the Yankees are 24-35 in 59 visits to Tropicana Field.
—The Rays have drawn over 20,000 to Tropicana Field for every home game this season.
