By Rays Are Rolling: Seven-Game Winning Streak Shows Why Tampa Bay Is Built for October
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Tampa Bay Rays aren’t simply winning games right now. They are finding different ways to win them.
That may be the most encouraging development of all.
The Rays extended their winning streak to seven games Monday night with a stunning 10-6 comeback victory over the Athletics, scoring eight runs in the eighth inning after trailing 6-2.
Tampa Bay improved to 72-46 and increased its lead in the American League East to six games over the New York Yankees.
It was the latest chapter in a streak that has featured dominant starting pitching, timely hitting and, most recently, an offense capable of changing a game in a matter of minutes.
Rays Pitching Dominates in Seattle
Before the offensive fireworks in Sacramento, pitching carried the Rays through a three-game sweep of the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Drew Rasmussen set the tone in the series opener, throwing seven scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory.
Rasmussen allowed only two hits, walked two and struck out eight while retiring the final 16 hitters he faced. Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca supplied the offense with solo home runs.
Tampa Bay’s pitching didn’t let up.
The Rays won the second game 3-2 on a great effort by the bullpen, before Ian Seymour delivered another quality outing Sunday.
Seymour allowed one run over six innings with seven strikeouts as Tampa Bay completed the sweep with a 4-1 victory. The bullpen allowed only one hit over the final three innings.
Over the three games in Seattle, Rays pitchers allowed only four runs.
That is the kind of pitching that translates to October.
The rotation doesn’t need to produce a shutout every night. It needs to keep games manageable and allow Tampa Bay’s lineup and bullpen an opportunity to take over.
Freddy Peralta Shows Encouraging Progress
Perhaps no development during the streak was more important for the long term than Freddy Peralta’s second start in a Rays uniform Monday.
Peralta’s Tampa Bay debut in Colorado was one to forget. He allowed seven runs and nine hits over 3 2/3 innings at Coors Field, although the Rays eventually rallied to win 9-7 in 11 innings.
Start No. 2 was much better.
Peralta surrendered two first-inning runs against the Athletics but settled down and gave the Rays six innings, allowing three runs and producing the type of quality start Tampa Bay envisioned when it acquired him before the trade deadline.
The difference was his ability to recover.
Rather than allowing a difficult first inning to snowball, Peralta settled into the game and kept Tampa Bay close. That’s important for a pitcher the Rays believe can become another significant piece alongside Rasmussen and the rest of their rotation down the stretch.
Peralta acknowledged after his difficult Rays debut that he viewed the trade as a fresh opportunity.
“I know that this is a new opportunity, and people have been helping me really well here,” Peralta said after his first start. “And I know I’m gonna get better because we’re gonna work for that.”
Monday was a significant step in that direction.
Rays Offense Suddenly Looks Dangerous Everywhere
Tampa Bay collected 14 hits in Sunday’s victory in Seattle, but Monday night’s eighth inning demonstrated just how dangerous this lineup can become.
Trailing 6-2, the Rays sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored eight runs.
Junior Caminero delivered the biggest blow, crushing a three-run homer — his 34th of the season — to bring Tampa Bay within a run.
Chandler Simpson tied the game, and Taylor Walls followed with a two-run double that put the Rays ahead. By the time the inning finally ended, a four-run deficit had become a four-run Rays lead.
Yandy Díaz also had another big night, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs while hitting his 16th home run.
Jonathan Aranda added two hits as Tampa Bay finished with 12 hits overall.
That’s what makes this lineup difficult to navigate.
It isn’t just Díaz, Aranda and Caminero anymore.
Simpson can create havoc with his speed. Walls continues to deliver important at-bats. Liam Hicks has lengthened the lineup since arriving at the deadline, and Tampa Bay can manufacture runs even when the home-run ball isn’t there.
Rays Looking More Like an October Team
Seven consecutive victories don’t guarantee anything in August.
But the way the Rays are winning should get everyone’s attention.
They can grind through close games. And when they fall four runs behind late, they have enough offense to put eight runs on the board in a single inning.
That combination — starting pitching, bullpen depth, speed, power and lineup depth — is what postseason teams are built around.
The Rays have already had a nine-game winning streak this season. Now they have another seven-game run at perhaps an even more important point on the calendar.
And with 44 games remaining, Tampa Bay isn’t simply trying to hold onto the AL East lead anymore.
The Rays are starting to look like a team capable of doing considerably more.
