Rays Look Ahead to Final Series

The Tampa Bay Rays travel to Boston to face the Red Sox in their final regular season series.

Playoff History

Tampa Bay clinched a wildcard spot on Friday for the fifth time in franchise history. They currently have a 3-0 record all-time in wildcard matchups.

https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1576046066084229120?s=20&t=_NZApZNYXzU_YlE33WzATg

In 2013, they defeated the then Cleveland Indians 4-0, and in 2019, they beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1. In their last wildcard matchup in 2020, Tampa dominated the Toronto Blue Jays in a 2-0 sweep, winning 3-1 and 8-2.

Two birds, one Wild Card Series win#RaysWin! pic.twitter.com/Sbv7L0g6hg

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 30, 2020

Although the Rays have lost six of their last 10 games, the team holds the third wildcard spot. If the season ended today, Tampa Bay would take on the Guardians in a three-game series.

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros are locked in for a first-round-bye, so the only possible change for the Rays would be their opponent. Tampa Bay currently sits 1.5 games back of the second wild card spot, so if the they move in front of Seattle, they would face the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Final Series

After losing two out of three games to the Astros over the weekend, Tampa travels north to take on the Boston Red Sox to close out their season.

Heading to Boston for the final series of the regular season pic.twitter.com/H7CmpsIBWb

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 2, 2022

The Rays have won 12 out of their last 16 matchups against Boston. The probable pitching matchup for game one of the series is Tyler Glasnow for Tampa against Rich Hill for the Red Sox.

Season Stat Leaders

Harold Ramirez has impressed for the Rays in the DH spot, as he leads the team in batting average (.309).

Randy Arozarena, the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year, has continued his success in Tampa’s lineup. He leads the team in runs (71), hits (153), doubles (41), triples (3), home runs (T-20), RBIs (89) and steals (32).

On the mound for Tampa, closer Jason Adams leads the team in earned run average posting a 1.56 ERA. Following him is starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs with a 2.45 ERA. Despite some injuries in the second half of the season, Shane McClanahan has been a leader on the rubber. He holds a 12-8 record, 2.54 ERA and has 194 strikeouts on the year.

First pitch of Monday night’s matchup between the Rays and Red Sox is set for 7:10 p.m.