NEW YORK — As the Rays lost the final two games in Boston last week — and didn’t look particularly good in doing so — it seemed fair to question if their recent run of success was coming to an end.
Especially as they headed to take on a Mets team that at the start of the weekend had the best overall record in the majors, had lost only seven times at home this season and had not been swept in a series.
But as the Rays rolled out of Citi Field on Sunday afternoon following a 9-0 win that completed a three-game sweep, they were looking, and talking, like a team that expects to be battling with the best for the rest of the season.
“(The sweep was) very good for us. We’re not going to get intimidated by any team,” said first baseman Jonathan Aranda via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “We demonstrated pretty much during this series the kind of team that we are, and that’s what it’s all about. …
“We’re always in the fight, and we’re wanting more.”
![Brandon Lowe, left, and Josh Lowe high-five as the Rays win for the ninth time in 12 games.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E "Brandon Lowe, left, and Josh Lowe high-five as the Rays win for the ninth time in 12 games.")
Brandon Lowe, left, and Josh Lowe high-five as the Rays win for the ninth time in 12 games. [ PAMELA SMITH | AP ]
The Rays moved to a season-high seven games over .500 at 39-32. They won for the ninth time in their last 12 games, and 20th in 29. They improved their majors-best record since May 20 to 18-6, with a slew of stats, headlined by a plus-72 run differential, that shows why.
“We’re playing good baseball,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Very encouraged by the way that we played offense, defense, pitching. Certainly to do that against this quality Mets team, everything’s got to go right, and felt like it did for the most part.”
In all three wins, the Rays showed a diverse and creative offense that could produce runs in a variety of ways, paired with strong and at times dominant pitching.
“We lost some close ones in Fenway to lose that series (versus the Red Sox), and just to follow that up in the second half of the road trip and sweep one of the best teams in the league, that’s a big, big thing for us,” outfielder Jake Mangum said. “We did it in so many different ways. We put up nine runs (Sunday). A shutout by the pitching staff. Defense was good. Just a lot of different ways we won all three games here this weekend.”
The Rays’ Kameron Misner runs home to score on a single hit by Danny Jansen during the second inning. [ PAMELA SMITH | AP ]Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
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Sunday, they scored three runs in the second with only one hit that reached the outfield, cobbling a rally with two walks, a well-placed bunt by Jose Caballero, a run-scoring groundout, a wild pitch and a hard single by Danny Jansen.
They added one in the third thanks to Aranda moving a runner and Mangum beating out the back end of a potential double play. They got two in the fifth with two walks and an Aranda double. And they capped the day with a three-run homer by Junior Caminero.
“No doubt, a versatile group,” Jansen said. “Guys can run. We’re not afraid to get a situation to bunt and get it down. And also guys can hit balls out of the ballpark. So it’s always fun to get some runs different ways. … I think that just speaks to the athleticism and the group of guys here.”
Shane Baz did his part by delivering a strong start, holding the mighty Mets to three hits while working into the seventh. But he said the hitters deserve some credit for the success he and the others have had on the mound.
“Our offense has been unreal,” Baz said. “We know our defense is always there, and just the way the offense has been going, it’s like we’re getting six, seven, nine runs a game, and that just makes the pitcher’s job a lot easier.
“Having a 4-0 lead in the third inning, it’s always nice to have that lead, and it kind of opens you up to pitch a little more freely, and you know if you give up one run you’re all right.”
Baz did pretty well as it was, allowing only three singles and escaping the one jam he had, facing Mets slugger Pete Alonso, the Tampa native, with the bases loaded in the third and behind in the count 3-1.
The Mets’ Pete Alonso, a Tampa native, reacts after Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe throws to first baseman Jonathan Aranda to put him out during the sixth inning. [ PAMELA SMITH | AP ]
Baz threw one fastball at 96.8 that Alonso swung through, then he pumped it up to 99.2 for a foul-tipped strike three.
“I was going to let it all out right there,” Baz said. “I wasn’t going to hold back or try and be too perfect. I was just going to throw a fastball. So, yeah, it worked out.”
Kind of like the weekend did for the Rays, stepping onto the big stage and showing they very much belong.
Yes, it’s only mid-June, and the season is not even yet half over. Most of the Rays said it’s too early to be looking at the standings, and their focus is only on the Orioles, who they host for a four-game series starting Monday.
But Aranda, at least, acknowledged they do have their eye on bigger prizes.
Already holding the top American League wild-card spot, the Rays on Sunday moved within 3 ½ games of the AL East-leading Yankees.
“They are on top of our division, so there’s a rivalry there,” Aranda said. “We are coming to get that No. 1 spot from them.”
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