Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Rays take series from Marlins, beat Cubs in home series opener

The Tampa Bay Devil* Rays continue to trail the Boston Red Sox in the standings, but the team has continued to compete. The Rays took the weekend series against the second-place Marlins (NL East) two games to one, and on Tuesday took the opener from the NL's current top dog, the Chicago Cubs. The game was tight throughout, and the radio announcers appropriately highlighted the play of rookie third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria may have put his rookie struggles at the plate behind him as his average has been on the rise (now at .249) and he has moved into a tie for second on the team in homers with 11.

It bears repeating that the Rays' pitching should keep them in contention for the playoffs all year. Team batting has been spotty but also timely. If Carlos Pena can regain last year's hitting form and catalyze the rest of the batting order there is no telling how far this team could go. Yes, it's a big "if" but the potential is obviously present.

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