My Two Cents: Why Are Rays Better? All Those .100-Plus Batting Averages Are Gone

TAMPA, Fla. — There were times during the first eight weeks of the season that you just knew the Tampa Bay Rays didn't have a chance. You'd look at the order and see four or five hitters — and we're using that term loosely — with batting averages under .200 and you wondered where the runs would come from.

Many nights, they didn't. During their 21-26 start, they scored one run or less a whopping 13 times, worst in the majors. Since then, though, since the magical May 20 date when things turned around, the Rays have been crushing the ball. Sure, the stars at the top of the order have been raking at All-Star-like levels, but the rest of the Rays hitters — from 1 through 13, not 9 — have been doing their part, too.

Do you remember when shortstop Taylor Walls was hitting .184, and always seemed to fail in late innings with the bases loaded? Do you remember Danny Jansen hitting .141 and flying out to the warning track all the time? Curtis Mead hitting .121 or Chrstiopher Morel hitting .143 for the month of May? And let's not forget that catcher Ben Rortvedt was run out of town on May 27 with an .095 average.

It helped that right-fielder Josh Lowe returned the week the hot streak began. He's been good, and the other guys at the top of the order — Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda — are terrific.

The Rays' offense has scored seven runs or more 13 times since May 20, where they've posted an MLB-best 22-8 record. And there have been many days where it's been the bottom of the order carrying the show. The 7-8-9 hitters had eight hits and eight RBIs combined one night, and seven more hits with eight RBIs just earlier this week on Friday night in the 14-8 win over Detroit.

Production, from top to bottom. And it's not every night, of course, but it's been relentless. And that's how you win 22 of 30 games and get right back into the American League East race. On Sunday morning, the Rays are just 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees, making up five games in the past week. They're doing it with home runs — tops in the majors the past six weeks, but they also steal bases, move the ball around and even score with bunts.

They are putting a lot of pressure on teams, and they've stolen more than their fair share of wins by capitalizing on mistakes. That's a winning formula.

"A lot of our big innings are 7-8-9 guys getting on base and the top of the order guys driving them in,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said earlier this week " Both parts of the lineup are doing their job really, really well. I feel like right now, the offense has been on a really good run lately and they're really complimenting each other, every inning, every opportunity.

"There's no selfishness in this lineup whatsoever. Confidence goes a long way in this game. Hitting is really hard. You practice lacking confidence more than the other way around, but I'm happy that our guys are feeling good about themselves. Everybody, regardless of the nine that are in that day, it feels during this run that everyone is contributing in big ways.''

Let's look at the numbers from some of these guys, and you'll see why the Rays are so much better. Walls was hitting .186 on May 20, but since June 5, he's hitting 14-for-46, a .304 average with 13 RBIs in two weeks. He only had 10 in the first 60 games of the year. All offense from Walls is just a bonus, of course. He's still leading the league in defensive runs saved by a wide margin.

Morel hit .143 in May andf didn't have a single home run or RBI. Not one. But in June, he's hitting .333 with three home runs and seven RBIs and has started to stave off that ''DFA Morel'' talk.

Mead, the spring training darling, was hitting .151 on May 7, with no home runs and just three RBIs in his first 65 at bats. Since then — in just 31 at-bats — he has four home runs and eight RBIs, and is hitting a whopping .397 on 12-for-31 hitting.

Jansen's value is behind the plate as one of the best defensive catchers in the game. He's still not hitting for average, but he's had six homers and 14 RBIs since May 13, many in clutch situations. And newcomer Matt Thaiss, who replaced Rortvedt on May 29, is hitting .322 in nine starts, with five walks and five RBIs.

What a difference a month and change makes.

What it's done too is change the narrative with this team. We've known all along that they have good starting pitching and a bullpen that has the lowest ERA (3.06) in the American League, second only to the San Francisco Giants (2.86) in all of baseball.

Now they're hitting, too. Caminero has 18 homers, Brandon Lowe 15 and Yandy Diaz 12 — including five since May 31. They all have 40-plus RBIs along with Jonathan Aranda.

They're hitting against the best team in baseball, too. They went to New York last weekened when the Mets were No. 1 in the MLB overall standings, and swept them, scoring 24 runs in the three-game series. Thanks to the Rays' good work vs. the Mets Detroit Tigers came to Tampa this weekend with the best record in baseball and the Rays have won the first two, scoring 22 runs in less than 24 hours on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. They'll try to do more damage Sunday afternoon.

They also scored 19 runs in two wins over the Orioles in a split, and had 29 in the two wins — also a split — at Houston. Both of those teams were playing great before running into the Rays. And let's not forget that the Rays also swept the Padres — my World Series pick — in late-April when San Diego was 12-1 at home.

The point is this. Right now, the Rays look like a very complete team without a lot of weakness. Not only do they look like a playoff team, but they also look like a team that can do some damage as well. Let's be honest. Who really scares you in the American League? The Tigers? Or Yankees? How aboutt he Astros or Mariners out west?

None can safely say they are better than the Rays right now.

We've still got a long way, because it's still mid-June. The Rays are 43-34, but they still have 85 games to go. They survived that early rash of outfield injuries, and their five starters have made 76 consecutive starts — which no other team in baseball can claim.

This run since May 20 has been spectacular. Can they keep it up? I certainly don't see why not.