Completed First Step: Resilient Rays Postseason Ticket

HOUSTON – The floor of the visitors’ clubhouse at Minute Maid Park was littered with corks from champagne bottles and tops from Budweiser cans. In the middle of the room, veteran outfielder David Peralta strapped on goggles while spraying two bottles of sparkling wine at the same time. Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri and Pete Fairbanks, among others, doused beer on their unsuspecting teammates and coaches.

“I like it,” said manager Kevin Cash. “I want to watch it a few more times.”

They’ve played without aces and franchise faces. You’ve covered the Missing Measures field from start to finish. They have risen and fallen, once again raising a small army of players to get through the last six months.

And for the fourth year in a row, the sturdy Rays head into the postseason.

The Rays finally got to pop champagne and celebrate after their 7-3 win over the Astros on Friday night at Minute Maid Park. They will be one of the American League’s three wild card teams, joining the Blue Jays (who won Thursday) and the Mariners (who also won Friday) alongside division champions Astros, Yankees and Guardians.

“It’s definitely a celebration, that’s for sure,” said starter Drew Rasmussen, who went through seven strong innings to win on Friday. “It’s well deserved by everyone in there.”

Postseason Status: stapled
Recording: 86-71
Remaining games: 5
AL wildcard: The Blue Jays lead the Rays with two games for first place; The Mariners lead the Rays by a half-game for second berth
Seeding Battle: Tampa Bay owns tiebreakers over Toronto (10-9 in the season series) and Seattle (5-2); Seattle owns the tiebreaker over Toronto (5-2).

They earned it after a journey that was far from easy, which Cash acknowledged in a brief speech that sparked post-game celebrations in Tampa Bay.

“Up, down, you guys have stayed and been consistent all season,” Cash told the team. “Be really proud. The goal now is to do this in a week. Here we go!”

Only four players from Tampa Bay’s opening-day roster remained active throughout the season: Arozarena, infielder Taylor Walls, starter Corey Kluber, and reliever Jason Adam. According to Spotrac, only the Reds and Twins have lost more days on the injured list this year.

“I think the team is built on depth. We have a lot of it and it’s been tested,” Fairbanks said. “We’ve built on that and we’ve done that over the past few years.”

Previous editions limited Brandon Lowe to 65 games. Outfielder Manuel Margot was missing two months. In June, they lost to All-Stars Andrew Kittredge and Mike Zunino for the year. A month later, Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier ended up on the injured list together. Franco has only played 80 games despite delivering an important go-ahead single in the fifth inning on Friday.

Key aides JP Feyereisen, Nick Anderson and Ryan Thompson joined Kittredge on the IL. Top pitcher Shane Baz made six starts before suffering an elbow injury that required surgery from Tommy John. Ace Tyler Glasnow only made his season debut on Wednesday.

In typical Rays fashion, they found a way. After setting a franchise record with 61 players last year, Tampa Bay fielded 60 this year, once again showing a knack for finding talent where others might not see.

“We talk a lot about being in a position where depth matters because of health and unexpected performance, up or down,” said Erik Neander, president of baseball operations. “They must have everything covered, and this group certainly has it.”

Harold Ramírez, who hits .309, and Isaac Paredes, who shares the team lead with 20 homers, were traded during spring practice. Such was Adam, who was a stabilizing force in an ever-changing bullpen. Jeffrey Springs switched to rotation in May and has an overall ERA of 2.45 in 132 1/3 innings. Siri, a Trade Deadline pickup, was a perfect fit.

The returning stars of the rays also came through. McClanahan went on to become a front starter, an All-Star, and the team’s MVP. Rasmussen was a rock in their rotation. Fairbanks, on a 22-game streak without a goal, was untouchable late in the games. Arozarena built on his Rookie of the Year Award-winning season. Yandy Díaz, who had three hits on his return to Friday’s lineup, was their most consistent hitter.

The Rays still went through their ups and downs. On July 10, they were 45-40 and 15 1/2 games behind first place in the AL East. On August 12, they dropped a half game behind the Orioles and out of the postseason picture. The next day, they reclaimed a wild card spot to start the 28-18 stretch that ended with Friday’s wild, wet celebration.

They believe it was just the beginning.

“I think it’s the first step,” Glasnow said. “I hope we can do this a few more times.”