The once shinning light at the end of the tunnel with clear vision towards the postseason have slowly moved into darkness. With 12 games remaining, each loss represents another knockout punch and though the Rays continue to hang on, they remain confident that they can reach the postseason.
Regardless of their 3-2 win over the Red Sox on Sunday, the Rays (73-77) remain 5.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins current holders of the second AL Wild Card. The hurdle for the Rays getting that second Wild Card will be to leapfrog the six teams in front of them, including the Baltimore Orioles who are currently tied with the Rays for third place in the AL East and in the Wild Card standings.