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Roger Mooney's takeaways from Sunday's Rays-Red Sox game

 
Published July 9, 2017

Can designated hitters win gold gloves? Corey Dickerson is headed to the All-Star Game because of his bat, but he sure brings a lot with his glove. He showed that during the sixth inning when he leaped to catch a drive at the wall then fired the ball back to the infield to double up Hanley Ramirez at first to end the inning.

The Mallex Effect was in full force during the seventh inning when Smith drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on Steven Souza Jr.'s infield hit to third and scored the tying run on a sac fly to not too deep leftfield. "Speed kills," manager Kevin Cash said. Yes it does.

Playoff spots are up for grabs in the American League, and the Rays are a legitimate contender. They have exceeded expectations largely because of their offense. The bench is deeper than it has been in years and the rotation is coming around. If they can straighten out the bullpen, they have a legit shot to make a run at October baseball.