Tampa Bay Rays falling out of American League East playoff contention – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays are losing their way at this vital stage of the season. At Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Monday, September 17, the Rays lost to the struggling Boston Red Sox in a crucial American League East Division game.
Their loss could send them out of the playoff race. With just one in their last four games, the Rays have moved to third spot on the League standings table. Being five games behind the leaders New York Yankees, Rays will find it extremely difficult to reclaim
their Number one status but they can surely end the season on a high note.
Manager Joe Maddon will be expecting his players to regroup and fight back to improve their chances of grabbing the American League Wild Card spots.
The Wild Card entry system could be a blessing in disguise for the Rays, who finished their six game road trip to Baltimore and New York with a poor 1-5 record.
The offence has remained the biggest problems for Maddon and company since the start of the season. Having scored just 21 runs in their last seven games, the batters have struggled to live up to the expectations.
It is an astonishing figure for the club that is leading the AL with a staggering 3.21 ERA. The last five teams that they finished the season with an ERA similar to that of Tampa Bay made it to the World Series finals.
"This has been ongoing. ... This is a seasonal misadventure," manager Joe Maddon said of his club's struggling offense. "We've been able to remain solvent because our pitching has been so good."
"I'm not unhappy," Maddon said. "That's overblown sometimes. That can actually be a good thing. It's fine right now."
"We're both really into that game, and we needed to win that game," starting Alex Cobb said. "I honestly don't really know what the argument was about, still. We'll work things out.”
The likes of Desmond Jennings, B.J. Upton, Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce, Luke Scott and Carlos Pena will be looking to take the responsibility on their shoulders to take Rays out of the slump.
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