If The Rays Make The Playoffs, This Might Have Been Their Defining Game

Resilient.

That is the word to describe the Tampa Bay Rays. No matter what the situation was, whenever things looked bleak, the Rays always seem to stay in contention.

If they make the playoffs, today, Aug. 24 against Roy Halladay, could be a big reason why.

It started off well—three runs off Halladay in the first. The Rays scored a few bloop hits and must have thought it was their lucky day.

Jeff Niemann looked on top of his game, throwing only six pitches in the first inning. Perhaps this would be a win for the Rays when you almost always expect a loss facing Halladay.

Then, the second inning happened—a disastrous six run inning. Niemann lost control, gave a cookie right down the middle for Rod Barajas' grand slam, and just like that, "The Doctor" had his lead. 

Usually when this happens, Mr. Halladay takes care of business. However, today was a little different. The Rays kept getting good at bats which didn't produce runs, but they kept their focus. Then, another three run inning in the fourth and it was all tied up.

Meanwhile, Jeff Niemann had pitched two straight three up—three down innings. Instead of folding as you'd expect from most rookies, Niemann (who could win rookie of the year) pitched six innings to get the W.

The pitcher expected to win, Halladay, struggled.

The Rays have had moderate success against Halladay, however; he had a 2.10 ERA against them this year.

In the fifth inning, Carlos Pena homered to right for his 35th of the year and the Rays comeback was complete. They won 12-7 in an entertaining game that proved that when the Rays need it most, they will come through.

It's unexplainable how the Rays, who have such a young team, continue to bounce back—especially against arguably the game's best pitcher. 

Halladay gave up seven earned runs—one more than his previous worst (six), which came against Boston in his last outing. He also allowed a season high 12 hits. The Rays battled him all game long, as he almost threw 20 pitches per inning.

However, back to the Rays' resilience.

After the second inning, this game looked like a sure loss, especially after getting blanked the day before. It is going to take efforts like these for the Rays to continue to climb up the Wild Card race ladder.

This week, the Red Sox take on the White Sox, and the Rangers face the Yankees. The Rays can pick up some ground with the series against the Jays, who they have won 10 of 13 against this year.

They also face the Tigers, where they have some favorable pitching match-ups, as I stated before. 

With that in mind, they have to take it day by day (they are only two and half games out of the Wild Card) and win some road games, where they are still nine games under .500.