Don’t look now, but the Rays have been one of the AL’s hottest teams

TAMPA — A month ago, they were lost. Couldn’t win at home, couldn’t get on a roll, couldn’t climb above .500. Not that long ago, there were eight teams ahead of them in the American League wild-card race.

Most of the same players remain today.

And most of the worries are long gone.

The Rays beat the Marlins 4-3 on Friday for their fourth consecutive victory and 18th win in their last 26 games. The Yankees are the only team in the American League on a hotter run since May 8.

And the Rays would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

“It’s impressive to go out there and watch,” said starting pitcher Zack Littell, who threw six innings of one-run ball against Miami. “It’s something different every night, it feels like.”

Littell was talking about the diversity of the Tampa Bay offense, but it has been pitching that has turned the season around. Rays pitchers have held opponents to four runs or fewer in a franchise-record 17 consecutive games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in the majors in the past seven years. The team ERA across that stretch is 2.08.

The Rays’ Jonathan Aranda scores in front of Miami Marlins catcher Agustín Ramírez on an RBI single by Matt Thaiss during the seventh inning. [ CHRIS O’MEARA | AP ]

Much of the turnaround can be attributed to Littell, who was coming off the first complete game of his career. The Rays have won each of his last eight starts, and Littell has gone 6-0 with a 2.79 ERA during that stretch.

“He threw the ball really, really well,” said manager Kevin Cash. “Didn’t fall behind many guys. If it was ball one, it quickly turned to 1-1. He trusted his defense.”

Littell does not have a mid- to upper-90s fastball like the other four pitchers in the Rays rotation, but he moves the ball artfully around the strike zone and creates weak contact much of the time. He gave up a solo home run to the Marlins Friday — and is now tied for the AL lead in most homers allowed at 17 — but that’s an occupational hazard for a pitcher who throws as many strikes as Littell.

He got through the six innings on a hot, muggy Friday afternoon with only 72 pitches.

“If it’s a tighter game, I’m going to sacrifice a few more pitches to make sure that we’re being a little more careful around the edges, depending on the hitter, depending on the runners, all that type of stuff,” Littell said. “Obviously, with a 3-0, 3-1 lead, it was kind of just go out there and attack guys and try to get them out of the box.”

The Rays spotted Littell that 3-0 lead in the third inning with some opportunistic hitting. Brandon Lowe reached on an error to lead off the inning, and Junior Caminero followed with a double. The Rays then scored two runs without another hit.

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Jonathan Aranda, who had an RBI single in the first, drove in one run with a grounder to second, and Jake Mangum drove in another with a grounder to shortstop. That’s exactly the type of situational hitting the Rays emphasized with hitting coach Chad Mottola in the spring.

Recently acquired Matt Thaiss hits a run-scoring single off Miami Marlins pitcher George Soriano during the seventh inning. It was his first RBI as a Ray. [ CHRIS O’MEARA | AP ]

The Rays were near the bottom of the majors when it came to driving in baserunners (12.6%) in 2024 but entered Friday’s game in the top 10 (14.7%).

“It’s putting pressure on the defense, and we did that,” Cash said. “Ideally, you find a way to get a hit or you hit deep into the outfield where you get a sac fly, but look, this game is tough. Pitching is really tough. To say we’re going to lift every ball and get it out in the air is not that easy. So, to have guys compete in the box and get some pitches they can hit hard on the ground or in the air, we’ll take it.”

An uncharacteristic blip by the bullpen allowed the Marlins to get back into the game late, but the Rays had gotten a critical run in the seventh on singles by Aranda, Mangum and newly acquired catcher Matt Thaiss for an add-on run.

“I’m just excited to be here,” said Thaiss, who got his first RBI in Tampa Bay. “It’s a great group of guys. It’s a really deep, good lineup. It’s a really deep, good bench and pitching staff. Any way I can help this pitching staff or turn this lineup over to the guys at the top with (Josh Lowe) and Brandon (Lowe) is a win.”

And the Rays are getting more and more of those every day.

John Romano can be reached at jromano@ tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

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