With a win over the Astros, the Rays have officially clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season.
Tampa Bay is coming off two straight AL East Division titles, but the Yankees claimed that honor this year. Instead, the Rays will have to settle for a wild-card berth, their second in four years.
As usual, Tampa Bay (86–71) has had success with a rotating selection of players as a number of players have stepped up this year. Most notably, pitcher Shane McClanahan built off his breakout 2021 with an even better ’22 season, accumulating a 2.51 ERA in 161.1 inning pitched. Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs also put up sub-3.00 ERAs in the rotation, while Corey Kluber has made a stable 30 starts for the first time since 2018.
On offense, the Rays has had to overcome several injuries to get to this point. Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Zunino have all missed significant time with injuries. However, Yandy Diaz has stepped up with a team-leading .817 OPS while Randy Arozarena has added 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases, his second straight 20-20 season.
The Rays still have something to play for with five games remaining, though, as wild card seeding remains up for grabs. If Tampa Bay finishes with the fourth seed, they will host either the Blue Jays or Mariners, while it will travel to Toronto or Seattle as the five seed. If the Rays drop to the sixth seed, they will play the AL Central-winning Guardians in Cleveland.
After Friday’s game, the Rays sit two games behind the Blue Jays for that fourth seed, and even with Seattle (pending Friday’s result) for the fifth seed.
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