Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Lowe celebrates with teammate Mike Zunino (10) after hitting a two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Scott Audette)

Tampa Bay Rays Take the Top Spot in the AL East

The Tampa Bay Rays are beginning a series against the Seattle Mariners on Monday after sweeping the Boston Red Sox at home in a four game series over the weekend to claim first place in the American League East standings.  The Rays currently have a record of 64-42 this season while the Mariners stand at 56-50. This will be the fifth time the Rays and Mariners have faced each other this season.

The Rays’ series win over the Red Sox was huge.  They went into the weekend trailing Boston by two and a half games and came out of it a game and a half up on the Red Sox, who now sit at 63-44 on the season.

Red Sox Remain Calm after Dropping in the Rankings

Although Boston now sits behind the Rays, players don’t seem too concerned about the fate of their season. Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta says their is no room for panic.

The team’s manager, Alex Cora is already looking at where the Red Sox can improve and says one area is on the offensive end although he says he was still pleased with the team’s effort.

The Red Sox next series will be against the Detroit Tigers starting on Tuesday.

The Rays Shot to Remain on Top

As well as the Rays have done this year, they have not won a game against the Mariners.  However, Seattle is just 23-27 in away games this season.

Chris Flexen will be the starting pitcher for the Mariners. He currently has a 3.81 ERA and the team is 13-6 when he has started this season. Michael Wacha will be starting for the Rays.

You can catch live coverage of the game starting at 6:30pm Monday here on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF.

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