Rays' Magic Number Down to 1 After Red Sox Beat Orioles Again
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Baltimore Orioles keep helping out the Tampa Bay Rays in a big way, and their recent losing streak has put the Rays into a position to clinch on playoff spot on Thursday night.
Baltimore lost to the Boston Red Sox for the third straight day on Thursday afternoon, falling 5-3. J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth, a two-run shot off of Baltimore reliever Dillon Tate. It was the third straight loss in Boston and their fifth in the past six games. The final out was a ground ball to Boston second baseman Yu Chang, who spent most of the summer with the Rays before being designated for assignment two weeks ago when Wander Franco returned from the injured list.
It shrunk the Rays' magic number down to one, which means they can clinch a playoff spot when they take the field in Cleveland on Thursday night. The game starts at 6:10 p.m. ET
The Rays can earn a postseason berth for the fourth straight year with a win on Thursday. If it doesn't happen, the next three chances come in Houston against the Astros. The Rays close out the season with three games in Boston.
Baseball has a new playoff format this year, with six teams making the playoffs in each league, the three division winners and three wild-card teams. The Rays are currently the fifth seed, trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games for the coveted fourth seed.
The No. 4 seed hosts No. 5 in the wild-card round, a best-of-three series all played on the home field of the No. 4 seed. That means a lot to the Rays, who were 51-30 at home but are just 34-40 on the road. That's the largest home vs. road discrepancy of any of the playoff teams.
Seattle is the No. 6 seed currently, and the Mariners are a half-game behind the Rays. Their magic number to clinch is now at two following the Orioles' loss. They play the Texas Rangers on Thursday night in Seattle. They are 20-4 against the Rangers at T-Mobile Park since the start of the 2020 season.
"That would be nice (to clinch in Cleveland), but ultimately we have to play a good game and find a way to win,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said Thursday afternoon prior to the Rays' game and before the Orioles' game was over.
Cash likes the new six-team playoff format, mostly because he experienced the stressful one-game playoff in 2019 when they beat the Oakland A's.
"One game, we won the game, but either way going into it, I'd rather have three games. I'm also totally fine with all the games being in one place. I'm excited to see how it goes.''
Jeffrey Springs is pitching for the Rays on Thursday night. He'll face Cal Quantrill of the Guardians.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.