The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t have their best showing against the New York Mets to start the week, but the franchise is still in good shape with it being early September. 

Following a sweep of the San Diego Padres, the Rays slipped up against the Mets. While New York has been playing a bit better of late, this was certainly a series that Tampa Bay would have liked to get. 

However, the team is still in good shape, and there was a major positive to take away from that series. In the win on Tuesday, Freddy Peralta was once again able to pitch very well, this time against his former team. 

With two excellent starts under his belt now, the right-hander might be building some serious momentum down the stretch and figuring some things out. If Peralta can pitch as he did in 2025 for the Milwaukee Brewers, it will be a massive boost for the Rays in the stretch run. 

Now, following the six-game homestand, they will be heading on the road with the hopes of knocking their magic number down even more. 

Magic Number at 9 

With the four-game series set to kick off against the Texas Rangers, the Rays will be looking to continue to get closer to clinching a playoff spot. As the Rangers try to get themselves into the AL West playoff race, this will be a big series for them at home. 

For the Rays, despite all of their success this season, the New York Yankees are currently breathing down their necks. Entering Thursday, Tampa Bay holds a three-game lead over the Yankees, and the race for the AL East is on. 

New York was recently able to win their series out West against the Los Angeles Angels, and they will be off on Thursday before starting up three games against the San Diego Padres. That will be a challenging series for the Yankees, with the Padres being a playoff contender in the National League. 

Even though the Rays didn’t win on Wednesday, their magic number did drop with the Baltimore Orioles losing to the Colorado Rockies. Colorado has been able to help out the Rays a little bit this week, and with the number in single digits, clinching a playoff berth is getting close. 

However, while that will be the first goal will be to make the playoffs, soon after it will completely switch to winning the AL East and getting homefield