Obviously, it’s always a thrill to win a series against the New York Yankees. Those wins instantly put the opposing team on the map as teams like the Yankees are constantly being watched by the biggest baseball fans. With that being said, this series win was even bigger for other reasons.
The first reason is that the Rays have to play the Yankees 6 more times and all 6 of those games are in New York. The Rays score an average of 2.6 runs per game away from the Trop, so it won’t get any easier from here on. The Rays did a fantastic job of finding a way to take 3 of 4 this weekend.
The second reason is that the Rays have moved into a tie for 2nd place in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles. The postseason prerequisites have drastically changed this season as the first and second place teams in each division get placed into the playoff bracket. This recent series victory has improved the Rays record to 8-8 and put them right into playoff contention 16 games into the season.
The final reason is that these wins wash out the Orioles sweep of the Rays a week ago and give Tampa Bay momentum going into the Boston series. The Rays dominated the Red Sox at Fenway in 2019 beating them 8 out of 9 times and outscoring them 51-26. The future looks bright for this squad as the pitching has returned to dominance and the bats have come up big when we need them.
Source: tbraysreviews.com
