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.

ST. PETERSBURG -- After the Rays’ brutal, 1-5 road trip through Chicago and Milwaukee, the vibes were noticeably better at Tropicana Field as they went 5-1 over the last week. They swept the Mets with a trio of comeback victories and then won their first two games against the White Sox before right-hander Chris Flexen shut them down (again) on Wednesday night.

“You’re not going to have energy when you get one run. That's the reality of it,” manager Kevin Cash said after a 4-1 loss in the series finale. “I'm proud of the way the guys really came out of this early start of this homestand, the way they brought it together.”

There were plenty of possible explanations for why things may have turned for the Rays during the past two series as they fought their way back to .500, at 19-19.

They held a rare, closed-door team meeting before their series opener against the Mets. Randy Arozarena said through interpreter Manny Navarro that got everyone “on the same page,” which led to the five-game winning streak.

“I think with all the concentration everyone's been having, giving everyone else a little bit of energy, we're getting the results that we want, which gives us a little bit of confidence,” Arozarena said. “We're just riding that, and I think it was because we got together a little bit to talk about it.”

Arozarena also said with a smile that the club’s slick new City Connect uniforms “have also helped us quite a bit.” Considering the Rays wore them until they lost, even though they were only scheduled to be worn over the weekend, maybe there’s something to that, too.

On the field, Jonny DeLuca and Josh Lowe added a new dynamic to a struggling lineup, Yandy Díaz looked more like himself and Arozarena hit some big home runs. Plus, Tampa Bay's opposition was a .500 Mets club and an American League-worst White Sox team.

Big picture, it’s critical that the Rays continue to get healthy and play more like themselves -- with good pitching, clean defense, opportunistic baserunning and timely hitting. And those things are especially important now, as they begin a stretch of 13 consecutive games against American League East competition.

The Rays will host the Yankees this weekend at Tropicana Field before embarking on a week-long road trip to Boston (four games) and Toronto (three). They’ll see the Red Sox and their MLB-leading 2.72 staff ERA again when they return to the Trop for a nine-game homestand that also includes the feisty Royals and the upstart A’s. Seven games against the division-leading Orioles in an 11-day span loom after that.

According to FanGraphs, the Rays have the hardest remaining strength of schedule in the Majors. They’ve had MLB’s easiest schedule to this point, as reflected by ESPN, primarily due to the number of games they’ve played against the White Sox, Angels and last-place Rockies. So if they’re going to get hot and healthy, this would be an ideal time.

The good news? They seem to be getting healthier. Taj Bradley has joined the rotation, and Ryan Pepiot shouldn’t be out long. Lowe and DeLuca are back in the outfield, and infielders Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda shouldn’t be far behind. Pete Fairbanks completed another rehab outing for Triple-A Durham on Thursday night. Shane Baz is in Durham, and Jeffrey Springs is getting close to game action.

Can they build on the way they played the past two series? The Yankees will present a good test this weekend.

“We know it's going to be a good series,” third baseman Isaac Paredes said through Navarro. “We know we’re going to have to battle against them.”