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Isaac Paredes Walkoff Winner
Isaac Paredes Walkoff Winner

My Two Cents: Rays' Interleague Dominance Keeping Them in Playoff Chase

Thanks to a pair of walk-off wins on back-to-back nights, the Tampa Bay Rays have now won nine straight interleague games this season. That dominance has helped get the Rays into the playoff picture, and continuing that will help a lot.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The past couple of nights with the Pittsburgh Pirates has been a lot of fun for the Tampa Bay Rays. A pair of wild walk-off wins will do that.

The Rays won 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday on Harold Ramirez's game-winning single, and Isaac Paredes was the hero on Saturday when his two-out single in the ninth inning gave the Rays a 6-5 win.

It was more interleague magic for the Rays, who have won nine straight games against National League foes this season. They're 9-1 overall heading into Sunday's game with the Pirates.

It's obvious to see how important this success has been for the 39-32 Rays, because there's some simple math involved. It's easy to see that the Rays are actually UNDER .500 against AL teams (30-31), so this hot streak against the NL foes is basically keeping them alive in the playoff race.  

Here's what's happened so far: 

  • April 18 — Chicago Cubs 4, RAYS 2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago
  • April 19 — RAYS 6, Chicago Cubs 5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago
  • April 20 — RAYS 8, Chicago Cubs 2 (6 inn,) at Wrigley Field in Chicago
  • May 24 — RAYS 4, Miami Marlins 0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • May 25 — RAYS 5, Miami Marlins 4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • June 7 — RAYS 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2 (10 inn.) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • June 8 — RAYS 11, St. Louis Cardinals 3 (10 inn.) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • June 9 — RAYS 2, St. Louis Cardinals 1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • June 24 — RAYS 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 3 (10 inn.) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
  • June 25— RAYS 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg

Here's the rest of the interleague meetings for 2022:

  • June 26 (Sunday) — Pittsburgh Pirates at RAYS, 1:40 p.m. ET
  • June 28 (Tuesday) — Milwaukee Brewers at RAYS, 7:10 p.m. ET 
  • June 29 (Wednesday) — Milwaukee Brewers at RAYS, 12:10 p.m. ET 
  • July 8 (Friday) — RAYS at Cincinnati Reds, 6:40 p.m. ET.
  • July 9 (Saturday) — RAYS at Cincinnati Reds, 4:10 p.m. ET.
  • July 10 (Sunday) — RAYS at Cincinnati Reds, 1:40 p.m. ET.
  • Aug. 9 (Tuesday) — RAYS at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:10 p.m. ET.
  • Aug. 10 (Wednesday) — RAYS at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:10 p.m. ET.
  • Aug. 30 (Tuesday) — RAYS at Miami Marlins, 6:40 p.m. ET.
  • Aug. 31 (Wednesday) — RAYS at Miami Marlins, 6:40 p.m. ET.

As we enter play on Sunday, it's important to realize that the Rays would be in the playoffs if they started today. They're holding down the No. 6 spot on the playoff rung, one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. 

There's still a long way to go, obviously, but they are at least in the hunt, and this winning streak with the NL teams is the big reason why.

The. Rays don't really make a big deal about differentiating opponents, outside of their American League East brethen, of course. So beating the Pirates is no different beating the Detroit Tigers or the Texas Rangers. It's a daily grind, this baseball, season, and the game at hand is all that matters.

That's why Sunday's game is the most important one — because it's the next one. Shane McClanahan, their best starter, is pitching and it would be nice to close out this sweep. 

After the two games with Milwaukee, the Rays then hit the road for first-time trips to Toronto and Boston, with five games against the Blue Jays and three against the Red Sox. They are the other two wild-card teams in the field at present, so it's going to be an important week for all involved.

  • PAREDES HERO AGAIN (Saturday): Tampa Bay's Isaac Paredes has had a week for the ages, and he added to it on Saturday with another home run and a two-run walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. His big hit gave the Rays a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, beating them in walk-off fashion for the second straight night. CLICK HERE
  • RAYS WIN IN EXTRAS (Friday): Newcomers Luke Raley and Jonathan Aranda had early RBI singles and Harold Ramirez drove in the winning run in the 10th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Friday night. Rays pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts and no walks, only the fourth time in team history that it's happened. CLICK HERE
  • RAYS NOTEBOOK: Pitcher Shane Baz recalls the day he got traded to the Rays from the Pirates back in 2018, plus injury updates on Manuel Margot, Wander Franco and Drew Rasmussen. CLICK HERE
  • RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the Rays' complete schedule for 2022, with results and stats thus far, and gametimes and locations for the rest of the year. CLICK HERE

 

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