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Playoffs gone but goals aren’t for Rays to finish season

 
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy prepares to hit in the bottom of the first inning against the Yankees at Tropicana Field on Monday, Sept.r 24, 2018. (BRONTE WITTPENN  |  Times)
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy prepares to hit in the bottom of the first inning against the Yankees at Tropicana Field on Monday, Sept.r 24, 2018. (BRONTE WITTPENN | Times)
Published Sept. 25, 2018

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays' postseason hopes, as unlikely as they had seemed, officially ended with Monday's 4-1 loss to the Yankees, manager Kevin Cash speaking for many saying they should be proud of what they did.

And that doesn't mean they don't have a lot to play for over the final week.

"A ton,'' Cash said, starting with who they are playing, as the Yankees are battling to secure homefield advantage over Oakland for the AL wild-card game.

"They're going to the postseason, and we're envious of that. They've locked themselves in. No denying that team is very good, and they're going to be good for years to come. So anything that we can do to make a dent, drive a dent into that relationship, these games will benefit us going forward.''

More specifically, the 87-69 Rays have a chance, with three wins in their last six games, to get to 90 wins, a remarkable accomplishment given all the changes, injuries and issues (some self-generated, such as implementing the opener) they've dealt with in a season that began miserably.

If they do, it will be the first time since 2013, when that was enough to get into the playoffs. In the first six years of the two-team wild-card format, only two teams won 90 and didn't get in: the 2012 Rays and the 2013 Rangers (who lost in Game 163 to the Rays). Within the 90 wins is the chance with two more to get 50 at home, also for the first time since 2013,

"This is already the most successful season we've had since 2013, and you just try to add on as much as you can this final week,'' centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier said.

"The 90-win possibility is a great thing,''
Individually, there are some round number goals within reach, such as:

• .300: Three Rays have a chance to finish with a .300 average (and enough plate appearances, 3.1 per team game, to qualify for the leaderboard). Joey Wendle is hitting .301, Mallex Smith .297, Matt Duffy .294. That's a big deal because .300 remains, despite the advancement in analysis, one of those milestone numbers. "Is there something magical to the number? No,'' Wendle said. "But I think every hitter is lying if there wasn't something about hitting .300. It's kind of just the number.'' And it's a bigger deal around here because the Rays haven't had one since 2011, when Casey Kotchman hit .306.

• 22: LHP Blake Snell has already set a team record with 21 wins and is slated for one more start on Saturday. No American League lefty has won as many as 22 since Cliff Lee in 2008. And none with an ERA under 2.00 — Snell is at 1.90 — since 1978 when Ron Guidry was 25-3, 1.74 and won a Cy Young Award for the Yankees.

• 30: C.J. Cron, who hit 16 homers in three straight seasons, is two shy of 30, and in less than everyday opportunity. "I'd really like to see C.J. do that,'' Cash said. "He's put together a tremendous year.''

• 38: Smith has 36 steals, two behind Kansas City's Whit Merrifield for the AL lead. Though Smith said it would be "cool" to steal the most bases in the league, he is more focused on not leading in being caught, a dishonor he shares with Texas' Rougned Odor at 12. "You guys think about stolen bases, but I don't like the caught stealing,'' Smith said. Cash had a similar view, saying he wasn't concerned whether Smith swiped the most but how he got there: "I want him to make the right decisions on the bases. … It's more important to be as efficient as possible and picking the right times.''

There also are three Rays whose credentials for the major postseason awards can be improved.

Snell has the best chance to win some BBWAA hardware, emerging, at the least, as a leading contender for the Cy Young. The last 10 pitchers to lead the AL in wins and ERA, as Snell does, and 13 of the 14 since the award was given in both leagues, have won the Cy Young.

Cash has a strong case to finish in the top three for manager of the year, though likely behind Oakland's Bob Melvin, who took a team with similarly low expectations, weathered significant roster change and got further.

Wendle, 28, has the most intriguing situation in his bid for top AL top rookie. He is viewed in some measures, such as a 4.5 WAR, as the leading candidate. But Wendle, with seven homers and a .793 OPS, is lacking the name recognition and other credentials that some of the others have, such as New York's Miguel Andujar (2.2 WAR, 25 homers, .851 OPS) and Gleyber Torres (2.6, 23, .829), and Los Angeles' two-way, though injury-limited sensation Shohei Ohtani (3.7 combined).

Though Wendle has drawn praise from Cash for what he has done and how he has done it in his hustling style — "He plays the game how you would want your entire team to play, how you'd want your entire organization to play" — as well as opposing managers, he plays up the other three as guys "who have long prosperous careers ahead of them.''

Still, Wendle acknowledged, "To be in at least a handful of people's discussion for the rookie of the year is kind of fun for me."