Tampa Bay Rays: Looking Ahead at a Tough Schedule to the Postseason

While MLB approaches what promises to be an explosive month of September, the Tampa Bay Rays are in prime position to win one of the two wild card positions in the American League.

This season, the two leaders of the wild card will play in a one game playoff to decide which squad moves on to the Division Series.

However, in order to claim one of these two positions in a wild card race that is bound to have teams like the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Angels making a last-minute run for the playoffs, the competition will be fierce.

The schedule that the Tampa Bay Rays would have to overcome to get to October is incredibly difficult.

The Rays open up this week against the red-hot Athletics, who sit behind Tampa Bay in the wild card race. The A’s took a key hit with the suspension of Bartolo Colon, but that does not mean that the Oakland squad will be severely hindered.

Then, Tampa Bay moves into a series against the Texas Rangers, owners of the AL's best record, the squad that has knocked the Rays out of the playoffs the past two seasons. The Texas offense poses a threat to any team they play.

A road series at AL East cellar dweller Toronto serves as the easiest series in the final month, but the rising Blue Jays squad was a competitor going into the All-Star break and is still capable of taking down quality teams.

The Rays then have a homestand that begins with the New York Yankees, the AL East division leaders, a team that Tampa Bay traditionally plays very well against. This is followed by another series against the Rangers.

A road trip beckons, beginning with a stop in Baltimore, a young squad that has their eyes set on finally reaching the postseason. Tampa will have to then go through a series at Yankee Stadium before returning home to Tropicana Field for a visit from the Boston Red Sox and the Blue Jays.

"The Sox" will dominate the topic of discussion for the Rays' final road trip. They begin with a stop at Fenway for the Red Sox, followed by a trip to take on the current AL Central leaders in the Chicago White Sox.

To wrap it all up, the Rays will face a three-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles with the season possibly hanging in the balance.

The road to October starts now for the Rays. It will not be easy; they have one of the most difficult routes to get there. However, if they can continue to play with the same urgency as they have in August, the hitting and the pitching will guide the Rays to their deserved wild card position.