Just when it seemed as though they were down, they come back again. With a meager $41 million payroll following the exit of a ton of talent this past offseason, it appeared as though this was the year that the Tampa Bay Rays finally fell off of the list of American League contenders. With the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox fighting for the AL East division lead, it appeared as though the Rays were done at the outset of September. But with wins in seven of their past 10 games including a three-game sweep of the Red Sox, Tampa Bay has now pulled to within 3.5 games of Boston for the AL Wild Card spot heading in to this MLB betting week.

Even despite the sports betting talent that they lost, the Rays have made progress with one of the best starting pitching staffs in the AL. As they have for so long, Tampa Bay has done an excellent job of developing prospects in their minor league system, and once again it is paying off with All Stars David Price and James Shields leading the way at the top of the rotation. The Rays will look to carry over their momentum from the sweep of the Red Sox as they get set to take on the Baltimore Orioles on the road this week, while Boston braces for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. All of the pressure remains on the Red Sox to get in, and that has opened the door for the Rays to go fishing in September.