Meet The Opponent: 3 Things Mariners Fans Should Know About the Tampa Bay Rays

The Seattle Mariners open a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. Here are three things to know about the Rays, who have struggled out of the gate but seem to be putting things together.

Tampa Bay pitcher Taj Bradley (45) throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month. He's been solid in his second season with the Rays. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Seattle Mariners continue their swing through Florida on Monday, taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set at Tropicana Field.

Seattle is 45-35 and leads the American League West by six games. The Rays are 38-40, and trail the New York Yankees by 13 games in the AL East race. The Monday and Tuesday games are at 3:50 p.m. PT, with a Wednesday matinee that starts at 9:10 a.m.

Here are three things to know about the Rays

1. Surprisingly, they aren't good at home

During the Rays' recent playoff run — they've made five straight appearances since 2019 — they've gotten to the postseason by being the best home team in baseball. They were a collective 105 games over .500 in those five seasons.

This year, they stink at Tropicana Field, posting a 19-23 record heading into Monday night's game with the Mariners. They haven't hung with the big boys in the AL East — they are a combined 3-12 against the Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox.

But what makes matters worse is that the other 11 losses have come against teams with losing records. They've lost twice to Toronto, Texas, the Los Angeles Angels, and Detroit, and have even lost to the Chicago White Sox, Oakland, San Francisco and the Chicago Cubs.

The Rays aren't too concerned about it — at least not yet. Several guys who struggled through April and May are heating up, and there's still a lot of baseball to be played.

"When you play 162 games, it's a grind. But when things start to go your way, you feel that momentum start to swing your way. I think we're getting there, and I'm not concerned about that record here at home,'' Rays outfielder Josh Lowe said. "There's still time to turn that around. It is what it is right now, but it's a very long season. We'll be better, I'm sure of that.''

2. Pitching has been a concern

The Rays and Mariners have a lot in common with how they've played the last few years. They pitch well but don't hit a lot. For the Rays this year, though, they haven't gotten the starting pitching they usually get.

Injuries have had a lot to do with that, of course. When you've got standout starters like Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs out all year with arm injuries, that's a lot to replace. They also traded Tyler Glasnow to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he's got eight wins already. The Rays haven't been overcome the loss of all that talent.

None of their six starters have a winning record. You see that? Not one! Zach Eflin is 3-5, Aaron Civale and Zack Littell are 2-5, and Taj Bradley — who's starting Monday night's game — is 2-4. Ryan Pepiot is 4-4 and Tyler Alexander, who's started six games, is 2-3.

For a team built on pitching, those numbers are hard to swallow. ERA's are any better. Bradley is best at just 4.06.

3. Count on a tight series

The Rays won the season series 4-3 a year ago, including three straight at the Trop after losing the first game of the Sept. 7-10 series. It was part of a 2-7 mid-September swoon that severely hurt their run to a playoff spot, which fell a game short.

The Mariners have a six-game lead in the AL West, but it's nowhere near comfortable. Houston is six back and has won five straight games. Defending World Series champion Texas is 6.5 games back and has won four in a row.

The Rays come to Seattle for three games Aug. 26-28.