If you had known that by mid-May there would be eight Tampa Bay Rays players on the disabled list, where would you have predicted the team to stand in the American League East?
If you had known that the roll call of injuries included such key players as Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings, Jeff Niemann, Kyle Farnsworth and, earlier on, B.J. Upton, how far down in the standings would you have projected the Rays?
You certainly couldn’t have expected what's happened: The Rays are tied for first place and nine games over .500.
Somehow, despite the bad health news that has beset them, the Rays keep finding ways to battle back from adversity and win games.
With their back-to-back wins in Toronto this week, they salvaged an eight-game trip that was heading south in a hurry, threatening to drag the Rays with them after such a promising start to the season.
They could easily have returned home from their latest swing having gone 1-7 or 2-6. Instead, after rallying from a 3-0 deficit Tuesday night in Toronto to beat the Blue Jays 4-3, they return with a welcome 4-4 split on the road and as co-leaders of the AL East with resurgent Baltimore at 23-14.
Their timing couldn’t be better, considering then Rays face a last-place but improving Boston Red Sox team (17-19) on Wednesday and Thursday at Tropicana Field and the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves (23-14) starting Friday.
"Four-and-four off that road trip is spectacular,'' manager Joe Maddon told the media after the Rays' comeback win. "Some tough games in New York. Some tough games in Baltimore. To come back and beat a very good team, Toronto (on the road) . . . coming from behind both nights, that's spectacular."
What’s impressive is how players have stepped up to fill in for their injured teammates. Utility infielder Elliot Johnson, whose batting average has rarely crossed the Mendoza Line in the past two seasons, is on the biggest tear of his career. In the ninth spot, he’s batting .500, having gone 11-for-22 during a seven-game hitting streak that has raised his average to .288.
Sean Rodriguez has made some big plays defensively, having switched from shortstop to third base in Longoria’s absence. And Rodriguez has been just as valuable at the plate in the sixth spot, hitting .333 (11 for 33) in his past 10 games to raise his season average from .239. In both Toronto games, Rodriguez made huge offensive contributions: He hit a two-run double to fuel a six-run fifth inning in a 7-1 triumph Monday and a towering solo home run in the seventh Tuesday to cut the deficit to 3-2 and initiate the comeback.
Meanwhile, Will Rhymes continues to make an impact after being called up from Triple-A Durham to fill Longoria’s roster spot. After a strong start, Rhymes found himself in an 0-12 slump covering the last two games at New York and the first two games at Baltimore. But he’s gone 5 for 12 in the past three outings, playing a role in all three victories.
The latest was also made possible by left-hander David Price, who weathered a rocky three-run third and settled in for a dominating effort at Toronto: seven innings, six hits, no walks and six strikeouts in raising his record to 6-2 with a 3.10 ERA. Joel Peralta pitched a perfect eighth to set up Fernando Rodney, who shut the door on the three batters he faced.
One of those Blue Jays, Brett Lawrie, took exception with umpire Bill Miller’s called third strike and flung his helmet to the ground, only to watch it bounce up and hit Miller. Lawrie was ejected, as was manager John Farrell, who had come to Lawrie’s defense to take issue with the strike call. That was the only excitement the Jays mustered at the end in dropping to 19-18, now fourth place behind the Yankees (20-16).
For the Rays, the excitement has returned after a difficult stretch in which they lost two winnable games to Oakland on May 5-6, lost two close games at Yankee Stadium and then a pair of tight decisions at Baltimore. But the pendulum began to swing back the Rays' way Sunday when they built a 7-1 lead against the Orioles and held on for a tense 9-8 victory.
They prevailed without leadoff hitter and star left fielder Desmond Jennings, who was placed on the DL on Monday afternoon with a sprained right knee. And on Monday night, the Rays survived again despite losing starter Niemann in the second inning after a line drive struck his foot in the first, knocking him out of the game with what was diagnosed as a bone fracture.
Cesar Ramos came to the rescue with three strong innings (one hit, one walk) to pick up the win, with Wade Davis, J.P. Howell, Burke Badenhop and Jake McGee combining to limit Toronto to three hits the rest of the way.
Now comes the next challenge, a two-game series with Boston. The Red Sox took three of four from the Rays at Fenway last month, but Tampa Bay won the last game — a 1-0 shutout by James Shields.
The Sox have won five in a row, though they got healthy this week with a three-game sweep against the lowly Seattle Mariners — the team from which the Rays took four straight in their previous homestand.
On Wednesday, Boston will pitch Clay Buchholz (4-1 despite a horrendous ERA of 8.31) against Jeremy Hellickson (3-0, 2.95). Hellickson is coming off a good performance against the Orioles on Friday (6.2 innings, five hits), though the Rays eventually lost 4-3. He’s won a career-high five straight decisions dating to Sept. 4 and hasn’t lost a game since Aug. 30 at Texas. Against the Red Sox, he’s 2-1 with a 4.99 ERA.
Thursday’s matchup features rookie Matt Moore, struggling to live up to high expectations at 1-3 with a 5.31 ERA, and Boston lefty Felix Doubront (3-1, 4.46).
Considering how things began on the road, the Rays might well have returned home in a tailspin. But they’re back in the friendly confines of the Trop, where they’ve gone 13-3 this season, having seemingly found their groove again — regardless of the obstacles in their path.
"I just love the attitude," Maddon said. "You can see it among us, but in the dugout during the course of the game, it's always alive. It's really fun.”
Given the mammoth size of the DL list, that’s saying something.
