Winning the American League East this season doesn’t come with as much benefit for the postseason as in past years due to the expanded playoff format eliminating byes, though it would assure the Rays one of the top three seeds and the right to host a best-of-three first-round series.
But winning the division title is a big deal for the Rays in any season.
Which is why as thrilled as they were to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Thursday, you heard, and will continue to hear, a lot of talk about their primary focus about finishing atop the division.
“Everybody is really locked in on winning the AL East,” infielder Brandon Lowe said. “I think everyone in that locker room has that same goal right now, and I think it’s to come out on top in that division.”
The Rays took a step closer on Saturday night, beating the Orioles, 3-1, in Baltimore.
Charlie Morton rebounded from a messy 33-pitch first inning that led to an Orioles run to work five innings, Yoshi Tsutsugo and Randy Arozarena hit home runs, and Ryan Thompson finished and became the major league-record tying 12th Tampa Bay pitcher to log a save as the Rays improved their American League-best record to 35-18 with seven games to play.
They also maintained their 3 1/2 game lead over the sizzling Yankees, who beat the Red Sox, 8-0, for their 10th straight win.
And the Rays, with the benefit of already securing the tiebreaker by winning the season series, reduced their magic number (a combination of their wins and Yankees losses) to four. That means a clinching could come as soon as Monday, when the Rays will be in New York, facing the crosstown Mets.
“You come to the ballpark, you want to win,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Saturday’s game. “We know what the number is, what we have to do is to find a way to be fortunate enough to win the division.
“I think that’s been a pretty driving factor for everybody in this clubhouse since this all started. We want to keep cutting that number, keep reducing that number down. We did (Friday) night with a really tight win. We played really, really well, got timely hits; see if we can do more of that (Saturday).”
Winning the division is seen by everyone in the Rays organization as a significant accomplishment.
The Rays have only done it twice before in their first 22 seasons, in 2008 and 2010, and banners signifying those titles were hung most proudly at Tropicana Field among those signifying other achievements.
There are reasons why winning the division is a big deal to the Rays.
One is the degree of difficulty based on the overall level of competition.
“The American League East is the barometer by which all other divisions throughout sports are measured,” principal owner Stuart Sternberg said Saturday. “The closest comparison for me is the 24 Hours of Le Mans (auto race, which is being run this weekend). Endurance, speed, immaculate planning and good fortune — each are necessary for success.”
Another is who they are competing against, as they are paired with larger market, higher-payrolled, better-pedigreed, more well-known teams, most specifically the heavyweight Red Sox and Yankees.
“We’re just a bunch of gritty, scrappy players, top to bottom, one through 25,” veteran centerfielder and team leader Kevin Kiermaier said. “We might not have many household names, I guess you could say, but we’re completely okay with that. Guys are out here trying to make a name for themselves. We know at the end of day our opposition, the team that’s on the other side, they know what we can do, and we have a lot of confidence in our bunch.
“We’re a small-market team, and we go up against some big dogs with a lot of attention, a big payroll and all that. But it’s very fulfilling being on a team like ours where there are no egos or anything that is a distraction each and every day. We’ve never been like that. This is all I know. So I’m speaking from what I’ve seen the last six or seven years, but especially this year. Everyone knows we play great baseball, and it’s just a testament to our coaches and players, coming to the field each and every day and having fun with each other and bonding on and off the field, as much as we’re allowed to.”
And having a chance to win the AL East makes it better.
“I hope that’s what’s been on our mind the whole time,” Cash said. “To me it’s huge to win the division. That’s what you play for.
“You play to get in the postseason. But winning the division, up until this year, the importance of that in the way the playoff structure has been in the past, there’s a big advantage to doing that. We witnessed how challenging it was last year, and the magnitude of playing one game is difficult, and we were fortunate to win it, but win or lose, it’s not the most ideal scenario and the way you avoid that is winning the division. So, even though the structure has changed, our mindset has not changed. We want to win the division.”
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