After 60 games, '21 looking a lot like '20

ARLINGTON -- Last season, the Rays’ 60th game marked the end of a regular-season sprint. On Saturday, it was just a mile marker in a six-month marathon. But what was true at the end of last September remains true now.

The Rays are still running at the head of the pack in the American League.

The Rays took a two-run lead three batters into Saturday’s game, added a run on Manuel Margot’s eighth-inning homer and rode an impressive pitching-and-defense performance to a 3-0 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. It was Tampa Bay’s 18th win in its last 22 games, its 24th victory in 32 games since May 2 and its 37th win of the season.

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Last year, the Rays finished the regular season with an AL-best 40-20 record en route to their second AL pennant. They’re not far off that pace now, still sitting atop the AL East with the AL’s best record, but they recognize they have a long way to go.

“We've got to be happy with where we're at. We're playing really good baseball,” manager Kevin Cash said before the game. “It's a different season, no doubt, because there's a lot of baseball left.”

There were plenty of questions facing the Rays this offseason after they lost top starters Charlie Morton and Blake Snell while not making any major external additions to their position player group. So how have they done it this time? Saturday’s victory provided some good examples at the plate, on the mound and especially in the field.

At the plate
The Rays lead the Majors with 636 strikeouts, and they punched out 11 times on Saturday. But they also lead the AL with 231 walks, rank among the AL’s top home run-hitting clubs and get contributions from everywhere on their roster.

That’s how it played out Saturday afternoon. Their first-inning rally began with a walk by Margot, who was thrust into the leadoff spot as Cash shuffled the lineup looking for a spark against the Rangers’ left-handed starter, Kolby Allard. Then came a hard single to center by Yandy Díaz, with Margot speeding to third and Díaz advancing to second on the throw.

Their heads-up baserunning set up Austin Meadows, who has been the Rays’ hottest hitter during their most torrid stretch of the season. And Meadows delivered, punching a two-run single to center. After an up-and-down April, Meadows has taken off with an MLB-leading 37 RBIs since May and a nine-game hitting streak during which he’s batting .394 with five homers.

“We try to harp on those guys: Complete the play. And we did, and we were fortunate,” Cash said. “We picked up two runs after Austin comes up with the big hit.”

The Rays didn’t produce much offensively after that, but Margot padded their lead in the eighth -- and completed the three-true-outcome trifecta -- with his fifth home run of the season. The Rays are 33-11 on the year when hitting a home run.

“It was good to connect on a good ball like that,” Margot said through interpreter Manny Navarro.

On the mound
It’s no secret that the Rays have a unique ability to get the most out of their pitchers. That was on display again in their fifth shutout of the season.

Left-hander Rich Hill, fresh off being named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May, began June with five scoreless innings on only 59 pitches. He has put together a 0.99 ERA over his past eight starts, allowing two or fewer runs in each of those outings. He wasn’t a swing-and-miss machine this time out, but he threw a ton of strikes and even mixed in his first changeups of the season to counter the Rangers’ aggressive approach.

And Hill smiled afterward when asked about being taken out after five efficient innings, a decision Cash made because of the number of fresh arms in Tampa Bay’s bullpen and the score of the game at that point. The Rays tend to develop and acquire players who buy into their progressive pitching strategy, and they’ve found another one in the 41-year-old with bigger concerns than whether he gets a sixth inning on June 5.

“Look, I want to win a World Series. Everybody wants to win a World Series in that locker room,” Hill said. “Whichever way that path takes us, or however that direction is to get us in that position, is what we're trying to do.”

After Hill came four well-rested relievers with contrasting styles -- Ryan Thompson, Jeffrey Springs, Pete Fairbanks and Diego Castillo -- and four more zeros along with seven strikeouts. Tampa Bay’s bullpen is so deep and talented that there essentially are no low-leverage arms, a trait that has allowed them to stay in (and come back to win) close games. Sixty games into the season, their pitching staff has produced a 3.35 ERA, third lowest in the AL.

In the field
There are times when it’s simply impossible to ignore what an effective defensive team the Rays are. One is when they’re on the field before games, scooping up hard-hit grounders from their coaches during infield drills. The other is when they have games like Saturday.

Catcher Mike Zunino made what Cash called a “magic play” in the first, picking a bouncing curveball like a slick-fielding first baseman then firing a strong throw to shortstop Taylor Walls, who then threw to Díaz to cut down Adolis García at first base. He also caught Willie Calhoun stealing second to end the eighth after Kevin Kiermaier aggressively cut off what looked to be a potential double, bookending a great all-around defensive performance.

Mike Brosseau made an excellent backhanded play and a terrific throw across the infield to retire Nick Solak in the second. Díaz slid to first to beat Calhoun to the bag in the third. Walls stabbed a Jose Trevino liner to end the inning and started a double play to end the sixth. Margot covered a ton of ground in right field to snag Khris Davis' fly ball in the fourth.

The Rays lead the Majors in outs above average, according to Statcast, and rank among the leaders in many other defensive metrics. On days like this, it’s easy to see why.

“I think that's just one of our strengths: defense,” Margot said. “We've had good defense all year long along with the good pitching. You get both of those, and you're going to win some games.”