One win over the defending World Series champions does not make a season, but there might be signs the Tampa Bay Rays are about to make a move in the American League East.
And so it might be time for you to jump on those nice +1000 odds on the Rays to win the East and +1200 to win the AL pennant for the second straight year.
Tampa Bay enters play Wednesday just 38-35 and in fourth place in the division, seven games behind the Red Sox and two behind the second-place Yankees and Jays – who lead the wild-card race at the moment.
That the Rays have managed to hang around .500 without much from either DH Pat Burrell, one of the team’s biggest free-agent signings in years, or starting pitcher Scott Kazmir is actually a positive. And it appears both Burrell and Kazmir might be ready to contribute.
In Wednesday’s 7-1 win over Philadelphia, Burrell had a homer and three RBI. That might not sound like a big deal, but it was his first homer since the team’s April 13 home opener and the most RBI he has had in a game this year. The bigger deal is that this guy is a major streak hitter and says he is healthy for the first time – he missed 29 games with a neck injury earlier this year.
That homer Wednesday snapped a career-long streak of 104 homerless at-bats, which stretched across 33 games.
“I think his hands are coming around, and when his hands get better, I think you’ll see that on a more consistent basis,” manager Joe Maddon said to reporters. “I think he’s going to get toasty and on a prolonged basis.”
Burrell, after all, did average 31 homers and 99 RBI over the past four seasons.
"He can get hot, very hot," Maddon said. "His numbers his whole career say so."
Then there’s Kazmir, who is 4-4 with an ugly 7.69 ERA this season. He was put on the 15-day DL on May 23 with a right quadriceps strain. He has made two minor-league rehab starts in the past week or so and allowed just one run on eight hits in 10 2/3 innings.
“I'm just happy I have a little more life on the fastball (it topped out at 93 in his most recent start). I'm pretty much just throwing good with my changeup and my slider,” he said to reporters.
The Rays are expected to activate Kazmir on Thursday and make a decision on which of their current five starters will head to the bullpen. It might decide how struggling Andy Sonnanstine pitches in the series finale with Philadelphia on Thursday night, but he is the most likely candidate to head to the bullpen.
Certainly the Rays are far from perfect – they need to get David Price's slider right and sort out their bullpen - but if Kazmir is back right and Burrell goes on one of his usual half-season surges, the Rays are back in business and should be, once again, a contender. So get your money down now.
