Encouraging signs from Rays with huge Rangers series ahead

The Tampa Bay Rays can't look ahead to this weekend's series with Texas just yet. There is a bit of business to deal with tonight against Baltimore, and if the Rays know nothing else about this season, they know to take nothing for granted.

It doesn't require deep thinking, though, to grasp the implications of the three-game series against the Rangers. Texas is one of two teams - Boston is the other - ahead of the Rays in the American League wild-card chase. If there's not extra urgency for this series, there never will be.

The 3-1 win over Baltimore on Wednesday was the Rays' fourth straight on this homestand, which is exactly what they needed to do after a five-game losing streak that threatened to take them out of the race. But then, there have been so many times this season that they looked ready to slip beneath the waves, only to turn things around.

They've managed once again to maneuver back into the middle of things, and the three games against the Rangers - along with six remaining against Boston - means the Rays can still control their fate. The good news for the Rays is that six of those nine total games are at Tropicana Field, where the Rays are 40-19 this season.

The bad news is they leave on a seven-game road trip after they're done with the Rangers.

The Rays are 10 games under .500 on the road this season.

Well, we'll worry about that next week.

For now, the biggest series of the season is dead ahead this weekend, and there are some good signs for the Rays, not the least of which is more production at the plate from B.J. Upton and Pat Burrell.

We've seen the struggles of these two all season, but both have homered in the last two games against Baltimore. Upton, let's face it, has been horrible at the plate most of this month, but he is hitting .400 on this homestand and he has struck out only once in the last six games.

That's a major step forward.

And Burrell, the much-maligned, is hitting .250 in August with five home runs. Nine of his 12 home runs this season have come since July 7.

Any move the Rays are going to make this season depends on getting those two turned around, so what they've been doing lately is at least a little encouraging.

What isn't encouraging is that Carlos Pena continues to struggle. He is hitting just .158 since July 1. He has just 21 hits in that span - eight are home runs.

Keeping it positive, though, it's also encouraging that the Rays' defense, which we know has been slipshod so many times this season, has gotten back to the form expected. Jason Bartlett was spectacular Wednesday against the Orioles - his diving stop of a bases-loaded line drive arguably was the turning point in the game for the Rays. And it will help immensely if they can get Akinori Iwamura back at second base for the last month. I just think Iwamura brings a real element of toughness to this team that has been greatly missed since he went out with a knee injury.

When he returns, it will enable the Rays to move Ben Zobrist to right field and will also strengthen their bench - since the Gabe-Gabe combination (Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler) will be available for those moments in the game where they're needed most.

That's getting a little ahead of things, though, because the Rangers are coming to town. They lead the Rays by two games in the wild card and swept them three games in Texas this season. The Rays just appeared lifeless in that series, but that shouldn't be a problem this time. With the Red Sox and Yankees playing this weekend, this series represents a great chance for the Rays to make their move.

Then again, with a seven-game road trip coming up and the margin for error shrinking as the remaining number of games dwindles, there really isn't a choice.

Normally, you'd never look at a series in August and declare it "must win," but this is one time I think we have to make an exception.