OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 01: Carlos Pena #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at O.co Coliseum on August 1, 2012 in Oakland, California. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Oakland Athletics 4-1. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

The Rays can saunter into the Trop this weekend on a huge wave of momentum following the 4-1 victory over the A’s yesterday. Finishing the road trip on the winning side of the coin was huge, and the Rays are in a great position to make up some ground against the Orioles, who the Rays are now, again, tied with for second place in the AL East. The Rays are also just a game and a half out of the last Wild Card spot with yesterday’s Angels and Orioles losses. We here at Raysbaseball like this a lot.

Here are a few other nuggets to ponder:

  • The Rays ended their road trip with a 6-3 record.
  • Tampa Bay held the Orioles, Angels, and A’s to one run or less in each of their six wins, including three shutouts.
  • That’s first time in franchise history that the Rays won three series on a road trip against plus .500 teams.
  • The Rays pitching staff has been disgustingly good since the All-Star break. Ponder this, over the last 14 days they’ve posted a 1.65 ERA/.166 BAA/.235 BABIP/10.53 K per 9 innings/2.22 BB per 9 innings line. They’ve also struck out 147 batters, while posting an 84.3% left on base percentage.
  • Tampa Bay averaged just under four runs a game on their road trip, scoring four or more runs in only three games. Yeah, that’s got to change. On the other hand, the Rays were able to hold their opponents to just under two runs per game, giving up four or more runs in only two games. In the month of July the Orioles, Angels, and A’s each averaged four or more runs per game.
  • Tampa Bay is now five games over .500 for the first time since June.

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