After up-and-down 1st half, Rays surge back to break-even

ST. PETERSBURG -- For all their ups and downs and consistent inconsistency, the Rays entered the All-Star break in a fitting place after a 2-0 win over the Guardians at Tropicana Field.

They are right at .500, with 48 wins and 48 losses.

It’s the 21st time this season the Rays have been at .500, most in the American League and just one shy of the full-season club record set in 2017. They’ve hovered around the break-even point for the past 3 1/2 months, never falling more than five games below or moving more than three games above.

But as the Rays went their separate ways on Sunday afternoon, still in fourth place in the AL East and 5 1/2 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot, they understandably felt better about how they finished the first half than the way they started the season.

“We've done some good things. We've done some things that aren't so good,” manager Kevin Cash said Sunday morning. “But like the way that we have played here the last month. … I feel like we’re a better version of ourselves right now.”

That much is reflected in their record. The Rays are 14-9 since June 19, and they’ve won seven of their last eight series heading into the break for the first time in club history. And they just took four of six games at home against the Yankees and AL-leading Guardians, two of the top four teams in the Majors to this point.

“I'd say we certainly did not start how we wanted. We had a couple of rough stretches, but I'm really impressed with this group, how we finished,” setup man Jason Adam said. “Winning series is always the name of the game, and we've been doing that.

“Certainly, we need to step it up in the second half and go on a bit of a run. But I have confidence in this group, especially after what they've all shown the past few weeks, that we can do that and be in a fine spot.”

The Rays still own the club’s worst record at the break since 2016. They have the Majors’ hardest remaining schedule, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, with a combined opponents’ winning percentage of .531. Their minus-63 run differential is the seventh-worst mark in baseball.

But, as closer Pete Fairbanks put it, “I thought we were generally terrible for at least part of it. We were good for part of it. And I think we ended it on seven of eight series to head into the break. So I think we'll take that.”

Asked what he feels the Rays have been doing better lately, Cash started with a two-word answer that played out perfectly in their fifth shutout of the season on Sunday: “Preventing runs.”

Starter Ryan Pepiot allowed only two singles as he breezed through six innings, his sixth quality start of the season and the fifth outing in a row he’s permitted two runs or fewer. That continued an encouraging run for a rotation that, headlined by Taj Bradley’s dominance, has put together an MLB-best 2.68 ERA in 19 games since June 23.

“I think we're playing really good baseball, all facets -- defense, pitching, hitting. Everyone's come around,” Pepiot said. “It's just big-time to have that kind of confidence boost going into the break.”

Colin Poche, Adam and Fairbanks took care of the rest. Poche retired all three batters he faced, Adam extended his scoreless inning streak to 13, and Fairbanks stranded two runners to pick up his 17th save.

“That's kind of how we're built to win ballgames,” Cash said. “Find a way to get that big hit or two and then pitch well and defend even better.”

Timely hitting still remains a glaring issue, given Tampa Bay’s season-long issues with runners in scoring position. Those problems weren’t solved this weekend.

The Rays are an MLB-worst 8-for-78 (.103) with runners in scoring position over their last nine games, and they’ve been held to three runs or fewer seven times during that stretch.

They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and 1-for-33 in the series, but they prevailed in the finale anyway thanks to a pair of first-pitch solo shots from Jose Siri and Brandon Lowe off Cleveland starter Ben Lively.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to send them into the break with some momentum behind them.

“The more times you can walk away with a series win, it's always going to put you in the right spot and in a good position,” Lowe said. “Not the first half that everybody was expecting and everybody wanted, but finishing strong, taking seven [of eight] series … we've been playing really good baseball.”