ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – After being swept by the Rangers in Arlington to fall two games below .500 and 5.5 games out in the wild-card race, the Rays return to Tropicana Field for a six-game homestand that will take them into the all-star break.
The Rays (44-46) welcome the Yankees (55-37) on Tuesday for the first of three games against their division rival, which has the most road wins (30-18) in MLB. The Guardians, who lead the American League Central, arrive in St. Pete for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.
To say this is a crucial homestand would be an understatement. A Fourth of July win over at Kansas City gave the Rays five straight series victories and nudged their record over .500 at 44-43. Then came the sweep in Texas, which the Rangers capped by piling 19 hits in Sunday’s 13-2 win.
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The Yankees, who occupy the lead wild-card spot and are three games behind Baltimore in the American League East, arrive as a snarly group having lost five of their last six games and 10 of 13. Of course, the Rays need to take care of their business and not be concerned about any issues the opponent may have.
“I am confident and excited to get back home and regroup a little bit,” said Kevin Cash following Sunday’s game. “Take (Monday) off, enjoy it and get ready for a big series. We have to play better baseball than what we just did.”
The Rays scored all of five runs in being swept by the Rangers. They entered the series having shown some life offensively in scoring at least 10 runs three times in a 12-game stretch. They have now also scored less than five runs in 10 of the last 14 games.
“I like to think we can have better at-bats, score runs, get guys on base,” said Cash.
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Ryan Pepiot (4-5, 4.40) takes the mound for the Rays on Tuesday night. He will be opposed by Carlos Rodon (9-6, 4.45).
Returning to Arlington: Isaac Paredes will be the Rays’ lone all-star representative at the mid-summer classic, which the Rangers will host next Tuesday. The third baseman leads the team in homers (14), RBI (47) and OPS (.820). This will be the first all-star appearance for the 25-year-old, who was chosen after the starters were announced.
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