get back into wild-card contention.

The Tampa Bay Rays finished the second-best homestand in their history Marcus Davenport Color Rush Jersey , with a much easier path between now and the All-Star Game as they try to claw their way back into wild-card contention.
Tampa Bay (41-40) went 8-1 at Tropicana Field, finishing a grueling stretch of 16 games against the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals and going 10-6 in those games to rise back above .500.
Now the Rays have a stretch of 16 straight games against teams with losing records, including a three-game series at the Miami Marlins (34-51) starting Monday.
The Rays have dominated with their patchwork pitching staff, allowing a total of seven runs in their last six games, with five wins and a 1-0 loss. They took three of four from Houston to close out the homestand and hope to continue the success to take some positive momentum into the All-Star break.
“The fact that we have been winning and everyone has been coming together at clutch moments has been great Antonio Callaway Jersey Elite ,” said outfielder Mallex Smith, who had a late solo home run in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Houston. “We’ve been jelling as a team. We’ve been feeding off one another. It seems like someone new coming through at the right time every day.”
Next for Tampa Bay is Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 4.08 ERA), who played for the Marlins from 2012 to 2014 and will almost certainly fare better than his only career appearance against his former team. In June 2015, he played there with the Yankees and gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in less than an inning, leaving after two outs with a 108.00 ERA to show for it.
Eovaldi has shown promise since returning from Tommy John surgery — his last start against Washington lasted six innings and he gave up no runs Ronnie Harrison Jersey Elite , one and and two walks with nine strikeouts.
The Marlins will answer with Wei-Yin Chen, who knows the Rays from his days with the Baltimore Orioles. He has started 21 career games against Tampa Bay, more than any other opponent, and posted a 5-6 record with a 3.72 ERA.
That’s considerably better than his overall numbers this year — he’s 2-5 with a 6.14 ERA, though his last start was solid. He limited Arizona to one run and five hits in six innings last week. Against Tampa Bay last year, he pitched well Authentic Mike White Jersey , holding the Rays to two runs and two hits in six innings.
The in-state rivals will meet again right after the All-Star break for three more games, but the extended run against lesser opponents is something the Rays must dominate if they want to get back into wild-card contention.
Even after winning eight of nine games, Tampa Bay is still 11 games behind Seattle for the second AL wild card. Still, being 42-41 after opening the season 1-8 isn’t bad, especially considering the injuries they’ve dealt with and the talent traded away since the end of last season.
Longtime New York Rangers anthem singer John Amirante has died. He was 83.
His wife, Annie Cody Latimer Jersey Elite , told the Rangers he died of natural causes Tuesday in New York after about a week in the hospital.
The Rangers on Twitter mourned with ”great sadness” the loss of the ”legendary anthem singer” with the booming voice. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist says it was ”always special to hear his name, see him walk out and sing the way he did.”
The Bronx-born Amirante sang ”The Star-Spangled Banner” before Rangers games at Madison Square Garden from 1980 until he retired in 2015 and on special occasions afterward.
A memorable rendition came on June 14, 1994, when the Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the final to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940.
Amirante also sang before New York Knicks, Yankees and Mets games.
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