Rays' comfort zone, pitching take a beating

The Tampa Bay Rays went to Boston around this time in 2008 for what became the most significant regular-season series in franchise history. They won two dramatic games to take the series from the Red Sox, solidified their lead in the American League East and rode that wave all the way to the World Series.

That was an incredible three days of baseball.

But I got an uneasy feeling watching the Rays these past three nights in Boston. The stakes weren't as high as two years ago, but they were high enough, and the Rays simply didn't resemble the team we've watched most of this summer.

The only good news is they didn't get swept; the Rays won the middle game of the series. But they did lose two of three, including Wednesday's 11-5 blowout, a game the Rays led 4-0. Even that's not the worst part, though.

Remember that pitching is the strength of this club. Well, sports fans, that strength was blitzed in three games for 26 runs, 33 hits and nine home runs - five on Wednesday. Matt Garza was routed for six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. It wasn't exactly a modern-day Boston Massacre, but it was close enough to be disquieting.

Counting the previous two games at Baltimore on this trip, Rays pitchers have allowed 42 runs, 58 hits, and 11 homers in five games.

Scary.

Yes, in the big picture the Rays kept Boston's playoff hopes teetering. The Red Sox basically needed to sweep the series to have any realistic hope. They still trail the Rays by 6½ games in the wild-card hunt with 23 games to play, and it would take a collapse of near-epic proportions for the Red Sox (or Chicago White Sox) to make up that much ground in the time remaining.

But just as that series in 2008 was a precursor for the magic to come that season, we may ultimately look back on this trip as the time the wheels began to wobble. We already know about Jeff Niemann's problems, and now Garza failed to perform when the Rays could have driven a stake into Boston's heart.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Strange things can happen at Fenway Park. No lead is safe there, especially a four-run lead in the second inning, so Garza and Niemann are hardly the only pitchers to experience rough nights at that yard. But now the Rays are headed to Toronto, where they were swept recently, with James Shields, Wade Davis and Niemann set to go.

It's not a comfortable feeling.

Shields has had his own troubles lately, and, like I said, we know about Niemann.

Right now, only David Price is truly reliable among the starters.

This is coming at a bad time.

The Rays have slipped 2½ games behind the Yankees for the division lead. That's hardly insurmountable, of course, considering they have seven games left against New York, but the Yankees have also been struggling the past few days, and the Rays lost the chance to pass them.

The Rays have already lost four of six on this trip, and a bad weekend in Toronto could put them in a suddenly vulnerable position going into the three-game series against the Yankees next week at the Trop.

The Rays don't have to win the division to get into the playoffs, but it would give them home-dome advantage through the first two rounds. It also would help them avoid a likely divisional series matchup with Minnesota - and the first test of the Twins' new outdoor Target Field in postseason play, where weather could be a factor.

But this thing isn't over. Baseball history is filled with teams that make dramatic September runs or experience similar collapses.

Yes, the Rays have a cushion. They have earned that with five months of solid play.

Things can turn in a hurry, though.

Assuming the Rays make it to the postseason, if the recent problems are more than a temporary blip, then who they play will be the least of their concerns.