
No. 2 scorer Stojakovic returns to loaded Illinois
Andrej Stojakovic is back at Illinois for his senior year, boosting their title hopes!
The Tampa Bay Rays have started the season strong with an 11-7 record, leading the AL East. Their recent three-game sweep over the New York Yankees has helped solidify their position at the top.
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Rays proving the critics wrong with an 'A+' grade to start the season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Playing in arguably the most competitive division in all of baseball, the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays are often questioned about whether they have enough to keep up. They lack the star power other teams have in the division, but they don't let that stop them.
Manager Kevin Cash always gets the most out of his team, and that is no different this season. They have come out on fire, holding together an 11-7 record, one game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the division.
And a big reason for them being ahead of the Yanks is their three-game sweep over them last weekend.
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After sweeping the Yankees, the Rays went out and swept the Chicago White Sox earlier this week. So, they are on a six-game winning streak going into their weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have also gotten off to a solid start.
We have gotten to a point in the season where we can start evaluating these teams a bit better. That's exactly what Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller did, giving the Rays an A+ grade at this point in the season.
The Tampa Bay Rays currently hold an 11-7 record in the 2023 season.
The Rays achieved a three-game sweep over the New York Yankees last weekend.
The manager of the Tampa Bay Rays is Kevin Cash.

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"It's more than fair to question the staying power of a team that wasn't supposed to contend and that is on pace to allow north of 850 runs this season. But with a recent stretch of eight wins in 10 games that included a sweep of the Yankees, it's pretty hard to argue with what the Rays have accomplished thus far."
While pitching has been a bit of a mixed bag, the offense has done its job. The team has combined for a .264 batting average, which is the third-highest across MLB.
That offense will need to keep that pace if they want to continue to sit atop the AL East.