ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays (22-12) are playing winning baseball. They have embraced the small-ball approach to offense: base-running, bunting, high-contact hitting over hitting the ball over the fence.
“We can beat you in multiple ways,” Rays outfielder Jake Fraley said. “I think that unless you have a lineup with a bunch of superstars hitting 40 homers a year, this is how you win ball games.”
The Rays have been winning a lot lately — victorious in 10 of their last 11 games.
They have the second-best record in the American League, but rank last in Major League Baseball in extra-base hits percentage.
“Scraping out wins how we can, get guys on base every way possible,” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said. “Getting guys over, good situational-hitting, good defense, trying not to make too many mistakes, and getting guys out of innings and back in the dugout.”
The team practices the lost art of bunting every day.
It’s not a surprise they lead the league in sacrifice bunts, and that approach helped them win on Sunday when Ryan Vilade laid down an 8th-inning squeeze play that scored Junior Caminero.
“Yeah, we got a gritty group,” Vilade said. "We don’t give up. Just manufacturing runs. A little Ray Ball there. And it was good.”
Ray Ball — a team-first approach to manufacturing runs.
“Sometimes you can’t lean on the long ball, so you got to play small ball,” Fraley said. “I’ve said it since the beginning of the year, the fact that our lineup is so dynamic in that aspect, if we do have nights like that, not putting it over the fence, we have guys in the lineup that can put bunts down.”
The Rays continue their series against division rival Toronto on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. inside Tropicana Field.
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For Tampa Bay 28 Sports Anchor Kyle Burger, pride in our local teams goes beyond college and the pros. Sports connect us as communities and families. You can connect with Kyle to share your passion for your local athletes below.
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