It's Over; Red Sox Win Gives Rays The Title

The Red Sox beat the Yankees 8-4 at Fenway Park, clinching the AL East Division championship for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Rays Get Help They Need From Late Night Heroics In Boston

In spite of shutting out the Royals 4-0, the Rays needed help Saturday to move back into first place in the AL East and regain control of their own destiny, and they got it...even though it actually arrived early Sunday morning. When Eric Patterson drove in Bill Hall in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 7-6 win in the second game of a double header (the Yankees won the first game 6-5), it left the Yankees and Rays with identical 95-66 records. And since the Rays hold the tiebreaker over the Yankees, they're back in first place. So now with only one game left to play for both teams, talk of Magic Numbers is irreleveant (it's 1 for the Rays and 2 for the Yankees, if you must know). There are only three possible outcomes and two of them favor the Rays:

1. Rays win = Rays win the division, regardless of what happens in the other game.
2. Yankees lose = See #1.
3. Rays lose, Yankees win = Yankees win the division.

Very simple. So here are your scoreboards to watch:

New York @ Boston 1:35 p.m.
Rays @ Kansas City 2:10 p.m.

Yankees Reward For Doing Nothing the Last 2 Days? 1st Place!

Maybe all this hard work and struggle stuff is overrated. The Yankees picked up a game on the Tampa Bay Rays and took control of the AL East division without setting foot on a diamond in the last two days. Not bad, if you can do it! And now the Rays, who had their own destiny firmly within their grasp just 48 hours ago find themselves looking for help from the Boston Red Sox to win the division, all because they’re 1-4 in their last five games against teams you’d expect the Rays to beat by four or more runs 8 out of 10 times they play, in the process being shut out three times. Wow. Pennant stretch runs don’t get much crappier than that.

MAGIC NUMBERS
Rays: 3
Yankees: 3

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Boston 4:10 p.m.
Rays @ Kansas City 8:10 p.m.
New York @ Boston 9:05 p.m.

Welcome To Round 1a Of The Playoffs!

Only it's a weird form of playoffs where two teams play neutral opponents instead of each other in a best of three series away from their home parks. The winner gets the AL East division title while the loser gets a not-too-shabby consolation prize of the Wildcard berth.
That's basically where we stand right now, after the Rays lost to the Royals 3-2 while the Yankees were idle, erasing the 1/2 game lead the Rays had held, giving both teams identical records of 94-65 with three games to play. It is important to note here that the Rays are technically still in first place, since they hold the tiebreaker advantage.

MAGIC NUMBERS
Rays: 3
Yankees: 3

FRIDAY'S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Boston 7:10 p.m.
Rays @ Kansas City 8:10 p.m.

Rays Still Hold 1/2 Game Lead, But That Will Change Tomorrow

If you have OCD, no doubt that 1/2 game differential in games played between the Rays and Yankees has caused you some discomfort. Relax. It goes away tomorrow as the Yankees have the day off and the Rays travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals for their final series of the regular season. That means that at the end of the day tomorrow, the Rays will either be tied with the Yankees (if they lose) or open up the lead to a full game (if they win).
As for tonight, both teams lost (Rays 2-0 to Baltimore and Yankees 8-4 to Toronto), so status remains quo in the divisional standings but both teams numbers go down by one.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: 3

Yankees: 4

THURSDAY’S GAME TO WATCH
Rays @ Kansas City 8:10 p.m.

AL Playoff Participants Set, AL East Title Still Up For Grabs

The Rays and Yankees both won tonight, punching their postseason tickets and finishing off the Boston Red Sox, so the only Magic Numbers left to track are for the AL East division. The Rays maintain their half game lead going into their series finale against Baltimore tomorrow.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: 4

Yankees: 5

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Toronto 7:07 p.m.
Baltimore @ Rays 7:10 p.m.

Rays Clinch Playoff Spot

David Price goes seven innings with home runs by Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford as the Rays shut out the Baltimore Orioles to clinch the second postseason berth in franchise history

Nothing Resolved As Rays, Yanks Lose, Red Sox Win

The Rays ran into a lefthanded buzzsaw named Brian Matusz and lost 4-0 to the Orioles while the Yankees got themselves into a 7 run hole they couldn’t climb out of, falling to the Blue Jays 7-5. Meanwhile, the Red Sox beat the White Sox in Chicago 6-1 to maintain their tenuous grasp on postseason hopes.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 1, Division = 5

Yankees: Wild Card = 1, Division = 6

TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Toronto 7:07 p.m.
Baltimore @ Rays 7:10 p.m.
Boston @ Chicago 8:10 p.m.

Red Sox Can't Close Out Sweep; Rays Lead Is A Half Game

The Red Sox had a lead going into the bottom of the ninth against the Yankees but ended up losing the lead and walking in a run in the 10th inning to lose, 4-3. So the end result from the weekend is the Rays are in first place after taking two of three against the Mariners, the Red Sox are basically done in spite of taking two of three from the Yankees and the Magic Numbers look like this...

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 1, Division = 6

Yankees: Wild Card = 1, Division = 7

Rays Hit A Speedbump, Fall To Mariners 6-2

The Rays lost to the Seattle Mariners 6-2 today at Tropicana Field and since ESPN is apparently required by federal law to show the Yankees and Red Sox as a national game at every possible opportunity (seriously, how is that a better, more intriguing match-up than Giants-Rockies or even Reds-Padres?), there will be no movement on the Magic Numbers (well, for the Rays) until much, much later. But here’s the up-to-the-minute status anyway…

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 2, Division = 6

Yankees: Wild Card = 3, Division = 9

Rays Starting To Pull Away

Same as yesterday, the Red Sox beat the Yankees (7-3 this time) and the Rays took care of business vs Seattle (9-1 tonight) and took another big bite out of the Magic Numbers while padding their 1st place lead. And here's a bonus: a friend pointed out to me that I was not factoring in the tiebreaker the Rays have in hand against the Yankees, so they don't need to finish ahead of them to win the division, just tied. So the Magic Number I've been reporting for the division championship since the Rays won Thursday night should have been one less. Oops!

The Rays could lock down the Wildcard tomorrow, although it would be kind of nice if Boston won again and helped shrink the division number instead. But hey, let's not be picky.

CORRECT MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 2, Division = 6

Yankees: Wild Card = 3, Division = 10

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Seattle @ RAYS 1:40 p.m.
Boston @ New York 8:05 p.m.

Rays Take Big Steps Toward The Postseason

A huge night for the Rays Friday as they knocked off the Mariners 5-3 while the Red Sox were able to hold off the Yankees 10-8. In Magic Numbers, that translates to shaving one off the Wildcard and two off the Division, more importantly, it means the Rays are back on top of the AL East.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 3, Division = 9

Yankees: Wild Card = 3, Division = 10

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Red Sox @ New York 4:10 p.m.
Seattle @ RAYS 7:10 p.m.

Rays Magic Number Is Four

The Rays got another one back tonight from the Yankees, putting a 10-3 whipping on them in the last of the season series between the two top teams in the AL East.

The Rays have ten games remaining, the Yankees only nine.

The Red Sox were off tonight, and will visit the Yankees for three Friday-Sunday.

MAGIC NUMBER TO MAKE PLAYOFFS AS A WILD CARD at least IS -----------------  4

If the Tampa Bay Rays win four more or there are four more Boston Red Sox losses, or any combination thereabouts, your Tampa Bay Rays are in the Playoffs.

Check out the wild card standings You'll notice everyone is eliminated but those pesky Red Sox:

For the Division win, the Rays Magic Number is 11, while the Yankees Magic Number is 10

 THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD TO WATCH
Red Sox @ New York 7:05 p.m. 

Rays Slow Down Yankee Express

The Rays got one back tonight, beating the Yankees soundly 7-2, just in time to (hopefully) calm the frayed nerves of some of the Rays faithful. Tomorrow’s game, the last meeting between the two AL East behemoths in the regular season carries the weight of two games in the standings: A Rays loss sends them back to Tropicana Field 2.5 out of first place while a win has them only a half game back, the same as when the series started. The Rays will have ten games remaining, the Yankees will only have nine.
Boston beat the Orioles 6-1 tonight.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 5, Division = 13

Yankees: Wild Card = 3, Division = 10

THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD TO WATCH
Rays @ New York 7:05 p.m.

Yanks Win Again, Gap Widens

The Rays have found the perfect time not to lose four of five. With Tuesday night’s 8-3 drubbing in the Bronx, they find themselves 2.5 games back, they need to win the next two games just to get a split and leave town a half game back, the same way they came in. Does anything we’ve seen the last two nights indicate that’s a likely occurrence? Thankfully, it looks like Boston is phoning it in so at least that Magic Number is shrinking…slowly.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 6, Division = 15

Yankees: Wild Card = 3, Division = 10

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Chicago @ Oakland 10:05 p.m.
Rays @ New York 7:05 p.m.
Baltimore @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

Yanks Victory In Series Opener Extends Lead To 1.5

Tough night for the Rays, wasting a valiant four run comeback to lose, 8-6. At least Boston lost.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 7, Division = 15

Yankees: Wild Card = 5, Division = 12

TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Rays @ New York 7:05 p.m.
Baltimore @ Boston 7:10 p.m.
Chicago @ Oakland 10:05 p.m.

Rays, Yanks, Remain 1/2 Game Apart

Not much to say today; Rays and Yankees both lost, Boston won and Chicago messed around and scored four runs in the bottom of the 9th so they’re still playing right now.
Tomorrow, however…

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 8, Division = 15

Yankees: Wild Card = 7, Division = 14

MONDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Rays @ New York 7:05 p.m.
Baltimore @ Boston 7:10 p.m.
Chicago @ Oakland 10:05 p.m.

Yanks, Rays Maintain Position; One Game Until They Meet Again

The Rays relied on a 10th inning error by the Angels to win 4-3 while the Yankees needed nothing quite so dramatic toi dispatch the Orioles 11-3. Boston and Chicago both lost.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 8, Division = 16

Yankees: Wild Card = 7, Division = 15

SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Baltimore 1:35 p.m.
Toronto @ Boston 1:35 p.m.
Los Angeles @ RAYS 1:40 p.m.
Detroit @ Chicago 8:05 p.m.

And The Shuffle Continues

The Rays lost to the Angels 4-3, the Yankees beat the Orioles by the same score so New York is back on top by a half game. Meanwhile, Wildcard hangers-on Boston and Chicago both lost.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 10, Division = 17

Yankees: Wild Card = 9, Division = 16

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARD TO WATCH
Detroit @ Chicago 4:10 p.m.
New York @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Angels @ RAYS 7:10 p.m.
Toronto @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

AL East Race: Rays, Yankees In Battle Royale

First, a look at the American League Wild Card Standings:

However, six of those games are agains the Yankees, so it's not completely impossible.  If the Red Sox sweep the two series with the Yankees, they may pull ahead of them in the Wild Card race.  Still, it's highly unlikely.  Coolstandings gives them a smaller than 3% chance of pulling it off.

The Chicago White Sox are not officially out of it, either, but will have to pretty much win all their remaining games, while two teams of the top three - the Yanks, Rays, and Red Sox  - must lose at least half of theirs - that's not going to happen.

All of which means that the only question left in the American League is who will win the league's best division?

Here is a look at the AL East race as of Thursday morning:

Now that's a tight race.  The Yankees were in first place on Sunday, the Rays beat 'em Monday to leapfrog, the Yankees won Tuesday to take back the top spot, and Wednesday night the Rays won again to lead the division. Thank goodness both teams are off today so we can catch our breath.

Rays Back On Top

You know, it’s entirely possible that the playoffs won’t be as exciting as the baseball that took place at Tropicana Field the last three days. The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays went back and forth, exchanging leads and one-run wins and losses in putting together three games that couldn’t have been any tighter if they’d been scripted in Hollywood. By taking 2 of 3, the Rays came away with the grand prize: the lead in the AL East. Of course, in true Hollywood fashion, there will be a sequel when the two teams get together in New York for four games starting next Monday. Whether it lives up to the original remains to be seen. Stay tuned.
In nearly-irrelevant-at-this-point Wildcard news, Boston beat Seattle 5-1 and Minnesota beat the Chicago White Sox 9-3

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 11, Division = 17

Yankees: Wild Card = 11, Division = 18

THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD TO GLANCE AT (actual watching not really necessary)
Minnesota @ Chicago 8:10 p.m.

Rays, New York and Boston all idle.

Yankees Back On Top

While Monday night was a duel between starting pitchers, Tuesday was a battle of the bullpens, and this time, the Yankees emerged victorious, beating the Rays, 8-7, in 10 innings. In other pennant race games (somewhat) affecting the Rays, Boston beat Seattle, 9-6, and the Chicago White Sox fell to the Minnesota Twins, 9-3.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 12, Division = 19

Yankees: Wild Card = 11, Division = 18

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Boston @ Seattle 6:40 p.m.
New York @ Rays 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota @ Chicago 8:10 p.m.

Rays Back On Top

Boy, you sure couldn’t tell Monday wasn’t a playoff game. Starting pitchers David Price and CC Sabbathia went toe-to-toe and didn’t give an inch. It took an 11th inning homer from Reid Brignac to get a runner past third as the Rays came out on top, 1-0. As a result, the Rays and Yankees swap spots in the AL East standings.
Boston beat Seattle 5-1 to move a half game ahead of the idle White Sox for third in the Wildcard race.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 12, Division = 19

Yankees: Wild Card = 12, Division = 20

TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Rays 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota @ Chicago 8:10 p.m.
Boston @ Seattle 10:10 p.m.

Rays, Yanks Separated By 1/2 Game, Go Head-To-Head This Week

The Rays were just three outs away from taking over first place in the AL East with Rafael Soriano on the mound, as close to a sure thing as you’re liable to find in baseball this year. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays’ Adam Lind didn’t know that and he hit a two run homer to give the Jays the 5-4 win. So instead, the Rays and Yankees will settle the matter among themselves (at least temporarily) in a three game series starting Monday at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees kept things interesting, losing to Texas 4-1. Wildcard longshots Boston and Chicago both helped their causes by winning 5-3 and 12-6 respectively.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 13, Division = 21

Yankees: Wild Card = 12, Division = 20

MONDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
New York @ Rays 7:10 p.m.
Boston @ Seattle 10:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox idle

Rays Just Half Game Back

Some days, everything goes your way. First, the Rays took care of their own business at hand, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 13-1. Then they got all the right kinds of help: Kansas City beat Chicago 8-2, Oakland edged Boston 4-3 and Texas rallied in the bottom of the 9th to beat New York 9-8. As a result, the Rays are now just a half game behind New York and could be in first place at the end of today.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 13, Division = 22

Yankees: Wild Card = 12, Division = 21

SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Rays @ Toronto 1:07 p.m.
Kansas City @ Chicago White Sox 2:05 p.m.
New York @ Texas 3:05 p.m.
Boston @ Oakland 4:05 p.m.

AL East: Rays Behind By One Game For Just A Couple Hours

With the Rays stomping the Blue Jays this afternoon, they pick up another half game on the Yankees.

Of course, that will change tonight after the Yankees meet the Rangers.

Rays Narrow Gap Again

There’s no such thing as an ugly win this time of year. Especially on a night when the Yankees lost to Texas 6-5 in 13 innings, the White Sox fell to Kansas City 4-3 and the Red Sox were shut out 5-0 by Oakland, the Rays 9-8 win over the Blue Jays looks like a masterpiece.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 15, Division = 24

Yankees: Wild Card = 14, Division = 21

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Rays @ Toronto 1:07 p.m.
Kansas City @ Chicago White Sox 7:05 p.m.
New York @ Texas 8:05 p.m.
Boston @ Oakland 9:05 p.m.

Rays Preferred Playoff Matchup?

In looking ahead to the playoffs, the question inevitably comes up: Which would be the best playoff matchup for the Rays?

Our friend Transplanted of DRaysBay has taken a calculator to all the stats, and has come up with a definitive answer: It’s too close to call.

Everybody Back In Action Tonight

After a day off for all the key participants in the AL East/Wildcard race, except for Chicago, things heat up again tonight with a full slate of games. Let the shuffle resume!

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 17, Division = 26

Yankees: Wild Card = 15, Division = 21

FRIDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Rays @ Toronto 7:07 p.m.
New York @ Texas 8:05 p.m.
Kansas City @ Chicago White Sox 8:10 p.m.
Boston @ Oakland 10:05 p.m.

Easy Come, Easy Go: Rays Give Back Ground Gained Last Night

The Rays fell to the Boston Red Sox, 11-5, in the teams' final meeting of 2010. Meanwhile, the Yankees broke a three-game losing streak on a home run by Nick Swisher in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles, winning 3-2. It wasn’t all bad news for the Rays, as the Chicago White Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers 5-1. The White Sox now trail the Red Sox by a half game in the Wild Card chase.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 17, Division = 26

Yankees: Wild Card = 15, Division = 21

THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD TO WATCH
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit 1:05 p.m.

Rays, Boston and New York all idle.

Great Night For Rays, Closing In On Clinching Wild Card And Catching Division Lead

Things could not have gone any better for the Rays Tuesday night. They broke a three game losing streak at Boston 14-5 while everybody they needed to lose, did just that.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 18, Division = 26

Yankees: Wild Card = 17, Division = 23

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Baltimore @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit 7:05 p.m.
Rays @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

AL East Pennant Race, AL Wild Card

Your Rays remain within striking distance of the Yankees in the chase for the pennant, while the Red Sox are barely hanging on.

In the American League wild card race, Chicago has climbed to within six of the Rays, with 25 games remaining.

Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle, and Baltimore have been eliminated from postseason play.

Rays Lose Again

The Rays missed a chance to gain on the Yankees and further bury the Red Sox, losing 12-5 at Boston while the Yankees lost 4-3 to the visiting Orioles.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox have passed the Red Sox in the Wild Card chase.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 20, Division = 28

Yankees: Wild Card = 18, Division = 23

TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Baltimore @ New York 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox @ Detroit 7:05 p.m.
Rays @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

Rays Head To Boston Still 2.5 Behind New York

The number 7 was unlucky for all three principals in the AL East pursuing playoff spots as as everybody lost on Sunday; Rays to the Orioles 8-7, Yankees xto the Blue Jays 7-3 and the Red Sox to the White Sox 7-5.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 20, Division = 29

Yankees: Wild Card = 17, Division = 24

MONDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Baltimore @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Rays @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

Rays Loss To Baltimore Drops Them 2.5 Back

The Rays lost to Baltimore 8-4, the Yankees beat Toronto 7-5 (their 8th straight win) and the Red Sox dropped two games against Chicago by the score of 3-1.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 20, Division = 30

Yankees: Wild Card = 17, Division = 25

SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Toronto @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox @ Boston 1:35 p.m.
Rays @ Baltimore 1:35 p.m.

Rays Win, Keep Pace With Yankees

The Rays beat Baltimore 4-1, the Yankees beat Toronto 7-3 (their 7th straight win) and the Red Sox game against Chicago was rained out, a direct result from Hurricane Earl. The game will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 22, Division = 30

Yankees: Wild Card = 20, Division = 27

SATURDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Chicago White Sox @ Boston 1:05 p.m.
Toronto @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Rays @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox @ Boston 7:10 p.m

No Help For Rays On Day Off

The Yankees shut out Oakland 5-0 and the Red Sox beat Baltimore 6-4 on Thursday. So both teams gain a half game on the Rays, whose magic numbers don’t change.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 23, Division = 31

Yankees: Wild Card = 21, Division = 28

FRIDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Toronto @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Rays @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox @ Boston 7:10 p.m.

29 Games To Go: Nobody Move!

All three principals were winners Wednesday night. The Rays (82-51) beat the Blue Jays 2-1, the Yankees (83-50) beat the Athletics 4-3 and the Red Sox (75-58) knocked off the Orioles 9-6.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 23, Division = 31

Yankees: Wild Card = 22, Division = 29

THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Oakland @ New York 1:05 p.m.
Boston @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay IDLE (Next game: Friday, Sep. 3 @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.)

30 Games To Go: Yanks Enter September In 1st

The Rays (81-51) took their lumps from the Blue Jays tonight, falling 13-5. The Yankees (82-50) had no trouble with the A’s, winning 9-3, and the Red Sox (74-58) fell to the Orioles, 5-2. The Red Sox loss allows the Rays to shave one off their Wild Card magic number.

MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wild Card = 24, Division = 32

Yankees: Wild Card = 23, Division = 30

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARDS TO WATCH
Boston @ Baltimore 7:05 p.m.
Oakland @ New York 7:05 p.m.
Toronto @ Tampa Bay 7:10 p.m..

31 Games To Go: Still Deadlocked

With the Rays beating Toronto 6-2 and the Yankees handling Oakland 11-5, there was no change atop the standings. Boston was idle.

Rays: Wildcard = 25, Division = 32

Yankees: Wildcard = 25, Division = 32

32 Games To Go: Rays And Yankees Deadlocked

In what is shaping up as a one month sprint to the finish, the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees find themselves with identical records atop the AL East (and Major League Baseball) with only 32 games remaining, seven of which will be head-to-head matchups (three at Tropicana Field, September 13-15 and four in New York, September 20-23).

 MAGIC NUMBERS:

Rays: Wildcard = 26, Division = 33

Yankees: Wildcard = 26, Division = 33

Race For AL East: Rays One Game Back

Monday Morning Checkup:

The New York Yankees continue to lead the American League East, with the Tampa Bay Rays hot on their tails.  Just one game separates the only two Major League teams with a winning percentage of over .600.

With 45 games remaining in the regular season, the race is far from complete, but here's how it stands today.

In the wild card race, the Boston Red Sox remain five games behind the Rays:

Rays Have Chance To Take Lead Today

Only a half game behind the Yankees, the Rays can even it up with a win this afternoon. The Yankees play tonight.

Five Straight Losses, Rays Losing Pace

After being swept by the Blue Jays, the Tampa Bay Rays remain in second place in the division - 2.5 behind the Yanks, and only 4.5 games in front of the Twins and the Red Sox for the wild card.

Rays Lose Three In A Row, Fall Behind Yanks Again

Rays Take Sole Posession Of First Place

After winning 10 of 11, and the Yankees losing 4 of 5, the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball, and overtake those Yankees for first place in the American League East.

Rays Grab A Piece Of First Place

A successful debut by Jerry Hellickson and a loss by the evil empire puts the Rays in a tie for first place in the division.  Boston remains in third, 6.5 games back.

Yankees Win, Take 2-Game Lead On Rays

The Yankees defeated the Mariners 8-2, and go into the All-Star break with the best record in the MLB, 56-32.

With 54 wins, the Rays have been keeping pace.

Rays Keep Pace At All-Star Break

At the All-Star Break, your Tampa Bay Rays have the second best record in baseball, just 1.5 games behind the team with the best record, the New York Yankees.

The Red Sox are 3 games behind the Rays, and the Blue Jays are 12 games out of first.

Baltimore is all but eliminated with 27 games back.

Rays In 3rd, 2 Games Out of First

Yanks On Top Of AL East

AL East Standings: The Race For The Top

Your Tampa Bay Rays are tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.  The Boston Red Sox are four games back, and Toronto Blue Jays another three games behind them.  As of June 16, the Baltimore Orioles' winning percentage is at a measly .276.