When the Tampa Bay Rays dropped their last seven games before the All-Star break, critics of the upstart club thought it might be the beginning of the end of perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2008 season.
But with August underway and Tampa Bay back on track, the Rays are playing like their best baseball is still ahead of them.The AL East leaders will look to win their fourth straight game on Saturday when they continue their series with the visiting Detroit Tigers.
Tampa Bay (64-44) fell out of first place with its longest losing streak of the year to close the season's first half, but with a 9-5 record since the break, the Rays have reclaimed a three-game lead in the East over second-place Boston.
"We don't ever try to project anything into the future," first baseman Carlos Pena said. "... We basically show up each day and play the game and just have faith that everything's going to be great at the end."
It was for the Rays on Friday, when they opened their season series with Detroit (55-54) and a six-game homestand with a 5-2 victory. Tampa Bay's 41-16 record at home is the best in the AL.
Pena is still hitting just .237, but he homered for the fourth time in his last seven games Friday, helping an offense that has struggled lately. The Rays are 27th in the majors with 46 runs and 29th with a .234 batting average since the All-Star break.
"I really believe in our guys," manager Joe Maddon said. "I believe they're going to come through in the clutch and keep getting better."
Tampa Bay's pitchers hardly need to improve. The Rays' 3.37 ERA since the break - the best in the AL - has kept them afloat.
Andy Sonnanstine, however, has been the exception. Sonnanstine (10-6, 4.65 ERA) has the worst ERA of any regular Rays starter this season and has struggled lately, losing his last three starts with a 6.63 ERA over that span.
The right-hander has never faced the Tigers, and he'll hope to hold down an offense that has suddenly cooled. After pounding out 22 hits in a 14-12 win at Cleveland on Wednesday, Detroit has six runs and 10 hits in the last two games, losing both. It has lost three straight just once since early June, when it dropped four in a row to Oakland and the Indians from June 2-6.
The Tigers managed only four hits on Friday, unable to take advantage of nine walks by Rays pitching. They went 0-for-9 with men in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.
"We just couldn't get a big hit," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It's that simple."
Kenny Rogers (8-7, 4.62) will be hoping that quickly changes as he makes his first start against the Rays since 2006. The left-hander has a 9-4 record and 3.10 ERA in 14 career starts against Tampa Bay, but he's given up 12 runs in 11 innings in his last two visits to Tropicana Field.
He gave up five runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 5-0 loss at Cleveland on Monday.
The Rays are hitting just .241 against left-handers this season, as opposed to .264 against righties.
The Tigers have dropped four of their last five games in St. Petersburg.
