The Rays beat the Twins 4-1 on Tuesday night, running Tampa Bay’s record to 13-3 during the last 16 games. While the offense did a good job in this time frame, especially in getting on base, it’s the starting pitching that really shone. The group owns a 1.98 ERA in that time frame, winning 10 and losing three. They’ve allowed just 73 hits in 104 1/3 innings without an outrageously high K per 9. Tampa Bay’s fielders, I suspect, played stellar defense behind the starters. They’ve allowed just one unearned run in that stretch.

It’s even more impressive when you compare them to other teams in terms of game scores. With 14 of the 16 games resulting in quality starts, the Rays starters averaged a 62.9 game score over that period. Second is the Athletics at 58.1. With the Rays going deep into games than any other staff, they are taking pressure off the bullpen as well. The team is in the sweet spot right now in terms of pitching and defense.

We’ve seen this in the AL East all season. Every team goes hot and cold. The standings reflect that the Red Sox had the fewest losing streaks and the Blue Jays had the fewest winning streaks.