Entering the 2019 MLB season, prognosticators believed the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were the teams to beat in the AL East. Why the Tampa Bay Rays might just be the kings of the AL East.
On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays did something they had never done in the history of the franchise. After shutting out the San Francisco Giants, the Rays won their third straight consecutive series since opening the season.
The Tampa Bay #Rays win their first three series for the first time in franchise history, while the #SFGiants lose their first three series for the first time since 2007.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 7, 2019
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The Rays beat the Giants on the back of SP Yonny Chirinos, a home-grown pitcher, and Yandy Diaz, whom the Rays traded for in a three-way deal that sent Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers to the Cleveland Indians, and Edwin Encarnacion to the Seattle Mariners.
Chirinos (2-0) tossed 5-innings of shutout ball while striking out 5. Diaz drove in the only run the Rays needed to defeat the Giants, a 1st-inning home run off of starter Drew Pomeranz.
At 7-3, the Rays are in first place in the AL East and are proving that last season’s 90-wins was anything but a fluke. The Rays are doing it with innovative strategies, like using Openers, and by piecemealing a group of players who know what their role is and do it at an above-average level.
Nothing is off the table for this organization. From signing a 35-year-old veteran in Charlie Morton to a 2-year, $30M to trading away the team’s ace in Chris Archer for Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to taking a chance on Tommy Pham, whom the St. Louis Cardinals gave up on him.
The best part is, all of these pieces are contributing to the team’s success in one way or another. Also, at $60.4M, the Rays are attempting to establish themselves as the class of baseball’s toughest division even though their payroll is approximately $163M less than the Red Sox and close to $148M less than the Yankees.
Sure it’s early in the season and the sample size is small. If you compare the teams since the 2018 All-Star break, however, the Tampa Bay Rays have more wins than the Sox and the Yanks.