CHICAGO -- The Rays entered the week with a prime opportunity to gain some ground in the American League Wild Card race. With a daunting schedule over the final weeks, Tampa Bay needed to take care of business against the White Sox to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Unfortunately, the Rays dropped two of three games to the White Sox in this series, including a 5-1 loss at Rate Field on Thursday afternoon. The series loss moves them to two games under .500 (72-74), severely dampening their chances of a postseason berth with 16 games left on the schedule.
“I don’t have a message right now,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We need to play better. They know that.”
Things were already stacked against the Rays heading into the final part of the season, considering they have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the American League. Tampa Bay had four series against three playoff teams (Cubs, Blue Jays twice, and Red Sox) and two series against teams that have played .500 ball since the All-Star break (White Sox and Orioles).
After splitting the first two games of this series against the White Sox, the Rays entered the day with just a 0.7% chance to make the postseason, according to FanGraphs. So, things weren’t exactly looking encouraging to begin with.
However, dropping two of three games to start this tough stretch is a gut-punch for a team that still has postseason aspirations.
“We’re not satisfied, but that’s over now,” Junior Caminero said through team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “Tomorrow, we start a new series with the Cubs, and that’s where our focus needs to go.”
“You do exactly that,” starting pitcher Ian Seymour said of putting the loss behind them. “You just stay focused on the next day and the process of just doing the things you know you need to do in order to have a chance to win.”
Not much went right for the Rays these past two games in Chicago. Ryan Pepiot was scratched from his expected start on Wednesday, which forced Cash to go with a bullpen game amid the Wild Card race. The team eventually dropped that game, 6-5, after Mason Montgomery allowed five runs in the second inning.
Tampa Bay then failed to bounce back in Thursday’s series finale. Seymour allowed three runs across 5 1/3 innings, and the offense couldn’t get anything going against All-Star pitcher Shane Smith. The team mustered just seven hits in the contest, four of which came from speedy outfielder Chandler Simpson.
“We just didn’t have many good at-bats,” Cash said. “We weren’t putting enough pressure on their starter or any of the relievers that they brought in.”
Simpson got on base in all four of his plate appearances in this game, which led to him swiping his 40th bag of the season. After singling in the first inning, the 24-year-old then stole second base a few batters later to reach that significant milestone.
With that 40th stolen base, the rookie Simpson became just the fifth Ray to record a 40-steal season, joining Carl Crawford (seven times), B.J. Upton (three times), Mallex Smith (2018), and José Caballero (2024). Simpson is also the 21st AL rookie in MLB history and just the fourth since 2002 (Esteury Ruiz, Mike Trout, and Jacoby Ellsbury) to accomplish this feat.
“That means a lot, especially names like that,” Simpson said. “Guys I looked up to my whole career and still look up to them now. Just the fact that my name is with them definitely makes me proud.”
The Rays will do everything they can over the final weeks to climb up the AL Wild Card standings. They know the odds aren’t on their side with the Royals, Guardians, and Rangers all above them and battling to reach the Mariners for that final Wild Card spot.
But the team won’t go down without a fight.
“It’s not over until the last game of the season,” outfielder Christopher Morel said before Thursday’s loss. “Baseball is like a ‘Pandora’s Box’: You never know what’s going to happen. So, we just have to continue to come here, play hard, and something will happen.”