Monday, 3 a.m.
The victory was earned in the front offices of the front office, by men who can overlook stats and contemplate the way the players might fit in the batting order.
It was in July, and the team still needed to replace the power of catcher Mike Zunino. So it shipped two minor leaguers to Oakland for Christian Bethancourt.
Three weeks later, the team needed to replace the defense of centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier. So it shipped off another couple of minor leaguers in a three-way trade that brought Jose Siri to town.
Bethancourt. Siri. You might have noticed them hitting back-to-back home runs in a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The win, the Rays' 82nd of the season,
Neither trade made big headlines when the Rays made them. However, both additions were key for a low-budget team trying to stay alive in the wild-card race. Bethancourt is hitting .289 in his last 12 games. Siri is hitting .286 in his last 15.
Bethancourt had three hits on Sunday. Siri had two.
"Bethancourt hit that ball a long way,: Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "I thought it was getting out, but I couldn’t tell by his reaction. Jose, I could definitely tell by his reaction. Jose has done a really nice job lately of making little adjustments and impacting the baseball."
“Jeffrey Springs got the win for the Rays despite giving up two solo homers. The bullpen, however, threw 3 1/3 innings of hitless, shutout baseball.
The Rays now must face the best team in the American League in the Houston Astros (6:40 p.m., Tropicana Field). Drew Rasmussen will start tonight's game against Luis Garcia.