TAMPA (WFLA) – The Tampa Bay Rays (33-18) beat the Baltimore Orioles twice on Thursday afternoon, and have now clinched a playoff spot for a consecutive year.
This is the Rays sixth postseason appearance but the AL East-leading Rays say their focus this year extends beyond merely qualifying for the playoffs.
“Just getting in was not what this team was built to do and certainly not something that we’re necessarily going to be satisfied with,” Florida manager Kevin Cash said before the game.
Afterward, Cash said: “We’ve put ourselves in position to be here. Now we’ve got to do it.”
The nightcap of the doubleheader was the makeup of a game postponed on Aug. 27, when both teams decided not to play as a show of solidarity for victims of social injustice and systemic racism.
The Rays currently hold a 3.5 game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
