The Rays are 5-5 in their last 10. After their immense start, they've leveled slightly. Don't get me wrong, they've still had extremely high highs, and are still running on great seasons by Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena and Shane McClanahan, but the April Rays were untouchable. The June Rays can get toppled by the A's or the Padres.
It's not terribly surprising. Every great start can lead to a conscious leveling, and it's never stopped a great team cold. Last year the red-hot Yankees cooled down in July, yet still kept momentum enough to get to an ALCS, which to these teams is basically as good as winning a World Series, I suppose. The Phillies were level for most of last year, and most of this year, before they took off. A lot of this easier-going momentum does put some of the pressure off of the Rays, and allows them to still look dignified while losing games. April Rays couldn't get away with that. The first few losses were very much met with '[GASP] THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN', forgetting that momentum is fickle in baseball, and teams get hot and cold all the time.
Right now the Rays are still in a good spot, ahead of the AL East with enough of a cushion to keep the Orioles from lapping them for now. McClanahan is in danger of joining Rasmussen, Springs and Baz on the IL, and they're hoping he figures things out. McClanahan has proven himself worthy of the ace status in Tampa, even as Tyler Glasnow still exists on this team. Without him, they're not in AWFUL shape, but it could be better. Glasnow, Taj Bradley, Zach Eflin and Yonny Chirinos all have low enough ERAs, and it seems like the next starting option could be Luis Patino, who...admittedly hasn't looked great at all. With the Rays' luck, they'll get through it with relievers and openers and the usual smoke and mirrors stuff they do.
The usual barrage of loaned hitters is still working for the Rays as well. Isaac Paredes is having another great season, with 50 RBIs and 13 home runs. Yandy Diaz is hitting .316 and looking like he might start an All-Star Game over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Jose Siri has 14 homers, which is a team high. Luke Raley has become an inexplicably good bench bat, with 12 homers to his name so far. Even Harold Ramirez is hitting .297 with 34 RBIs. Everybody in the lineup has 30+ RBIs save for Brandon Lowe, who is injured, and Christian Bethancourt. 6 of these guys are hitting over .250. The contact mentality is succeeding, the defense is succeeding, and the Rays are still looking very good.
I'm a little less harsh on the Rays. Most of the people who stirred shit up last year are playing lesser roles in this team, or are injured. The Rays' Pride Night seemed to go off without a hitch. And we've got a guy on this team who's a noted spokesman for autism awareness, as Harold Ramirez is his kid's biggest cheerleader. I can't...completely hate this team as much as I used to. Doesn't mean I want them to win, I just...rank them a little higher than Houston now.
Coming Tomorrow- There's a ton of Braves up for starting ASG spots, and somehow THIS GUY might be the most likely of them all to start the game.
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