This story was excerpted from Adam Berry's Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- The Rays reached the halfway point of their season with a 3-1 win over the Royals on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

Eighty-one games down. Eighty-one to go.

“Very pleased,” manager Kevin Cash said. “You look at it like, 'Man, we've worked hard to get to this spot,' and now we want to just do everything we can to kind of maintain it and do everything we can to keep as close to the pace we've had as possible.”

That’s a tall order, which speaks to how well their first half went. They won two of every three games they played, with an MLB-leading 54-27 record and just one three-game losing streak all season.

The Rays entered Monday’s off-day on one of their weakest runs, going 6-7 with a series loss to the Padres and series splits against the A’s, Orioles and Royals, but they remain atop the American League East (and MLB.com’s Power Rankings) for good reason.

“We've been playing really well all season, and we've maintained it throughout the season as well,” starter Tyler Glasnow said. “It's not really been like a bunch of ups and downs, and we've kind of been steady and it's just a very reassuring feeling.”

Before the second half of the schedule begins, let’s look back at the first 81 games.

First-half MVP(s)
Randy Arozarena, Yandy Díaz and Wander Franco have all played such massive parts in the Rays’ first-half success, it’s impossible to pick just one of them.

Arozarena’s case is clear. He’s tied for the team lead with 14 homers and leads the club with 54 RBIs, and he’s hitting .292/.405/.485 while playing more than anybody on the team. The way he rapidly evolved into such a complete hitter is astonishing. (Honestly, raise your hand if you had Arozarena leading the AL in on-base percentage 81 games in.) He’s also quickly forged a special relationship with fans that brings extra energy to the ballpark most nights.

Díaz has also taken a step forward this year, adding power to his patience at the plate. From the leadoff spot, he sets the tone for everything the Rays lineup has done. He’s still drawing walks and not striking out much, with his on-base skills putting him in position to score a team-high 51 runs, but his ability to get more of his hard-hit balls in the air has boosted his slash line to .316/.404/.518 with a team-leading 159 OPS+.

Finally, Franco leads the Rays -- and all non-Shohei Ohtani players in the AL, in fact -- with 4.0 Wins Above Replacement. The 22-year-old switch-hitter is batting .287/.350/.461 with nine homers and a whopping 25 stolen bases. (Only two other players in franchise history have had at least 25 steals in the team’s first 81 games: Carl Crawford three times and B.J. Upton once.) The shortstop has also been one of the Majors’ best defensive players at any position; he ranked fifth as of Monday with 12 Defensive Runs Saved and tied for first with 10 Outs Above Average.

First-half Cy Young
Zach Eflin has been great, but this one is pretty straightforward: It’s Shane McClanahan. The lefty is 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA, best in the Majors, along with 100 strikeouts in 93 innings over 16 outings. The Rays have lost only three games he’s started. If he stays healthy -- and his recent bout with mid-back tightness was a scare, if nothing else -- he’ll be in the AL Cy Young Award conversation.

Biggest surprise
Everyone knew the Rays would pitch well and play good defense, but who predicted this offensive production? The biggest surprise has been not only their power, but the depth of their lineup.

They’re third in the Majors with 123 home runs, second with an .802 OPS and second with 451 runs scored. Nine hitters have at least nine homers, and nine hitters own an OPS+ of at least 100. Isaac Paredes and Jose Siri have stepped into bigger roles, Luke Raley and Josh Lowe have helped balance the lineup, and Harold Ramírez just keeps hitting.

Biggest disappointment
Two stand out: the injuries to starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen, which immediately tested the rotation’s depth, and the bullpen’s overall inconsistent performance (with the caveat that the group seems to have stabilized a bit this month).

Both factor into the way Tampa Bay is likely to approach the Trade Deadline. Considering where they are in the standings and their belief that this is potentially a special team, the Rays will be active in their efforts to improve their roster in the coming weeks.

Specifically, expect Tampa Bay to be on the lookout for bullpen upgrades -- keep in mind Andrew Kittredge will return at some point after the break, too -- and additional rotation depth. The Rays are set up well with the front-line foursome of McClanahan, Glasnow, Eflin and Taj Bradley, but another reliable starter could help down the stretch.

Story to remember
The 13-game winning streak. The Rays set an overall franchise record, matched the longest season-opening streak in MLB’s Modern Era and turned MLB.com researcher extraordinaire Sarah Langs into perhaps the world’s foremost expert on the 1884 St. Louis Maroons.

Also impressive: The Rays are 34-10 at Tropicana Field. They are 11-1-2 in series play at home and the only team without a three-game home losing streak this season. (They’ve lost back-to-back home games … once, on April 25-26.)