Tampa Bay, 8:1 (BetUS)
+120 to win the AL East (BetUS)
Current Record: 68-45
PECOTA Playoff Odds: 91.8%
The Rays have been fantastic since the break, winning 13 of 19 and seven of their last eight. Most of that success has come at home, but it also includes a 4-3 road trip. They're not yet back to where they were on July 8 (96.5%), but they've really improved their chances over the last three weeks.
Despite the hot streak, they do have some issues at the moment. Crawford has a sore left hamstring, and hasn't played since Sunday. Bartlett hasn't played the field since Sunday (he did DH yesterday; gotta get that .602 OPS into the lineup), when he was hit on his index finger while trying to bunt. Losing Jason Bartlett for a few days may not seem like a big deal, but considering that he has been replaced by Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist, well, it is. Finally, B.J. Upton decided not to run out a ground ball on Tuesday, and Maddon benched him yesterday as punishment. Bartlett and Upton should be back to their normal roles tonight, while Crawford's status is unclear.
Tampa now heads out on a ten-game road trip, where they'll face Seattle, Oakland, and Texas. They'll do so with the services of reliever Chad Bradford, who they claimed off waivers and have acquired from Baltimore. Bradford has registered very few strikeouts this year (2.9 K/9), but his K rate has been much higher in the past and he gets a ton of ground balls (68.7% this year, 64.2% career), and doesn't walk anybody (1.6 BB/9 this year, 2.4 BB/9 career).
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