ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays will almost certainly have their moment to celebrate.

Even after losing 4-0 to the Astros on Monday night at Tropicana Field, the Rays’ magic number to clinch a spot in the postseason fell to 10 as a result of the Orioles’ 11-0 loss to the Tigers. Tampa Bay dropped a game behind the Blue Jays, who occupy the American League’s top Wild Card spot, and holds only a half-game lead over the Mariners for the second spot.

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But the Rays’ playoff odds entering the day, according to most projections, were in the 97-98 percent range. They have a 5 1/2-game cushion over Baltimore with 15 to play. Barring a stunning collapse, Tampa Bay is playing for postseason seeding at this point -- and learning how it might stack up in October.

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The Rays got a good sense in the series opener of what they will be up against. While they discussed a loss in which their lineup left 10 runners on base and Drew Rasmussen surrendered four runs in six innings, the Astros retreated to the visitors’ clubhouse to spray champagne and celebrate their fifth AL West championship in the past six years.

“It's a pretty good test. I know we're going to face those guys in the playoffs, too,” said Harold Ramírez, who had three of Tampa Bay’s five hits on the night. “But we just have to compete.”

It wouldn’t be anything new if the Rays and Astros are reacquainted in October, as Ramírez suggested. They’ve met twice in the postseason, with Houston winning the 2019 AL Division Series in five games and Tampa Bay emerging victorious in a seven-game AL Championship Series in 2020.

This year, once again, the road to the World Series most likely goes through Houston.

Monday’s victory delivered the Astros their 12th division title in franchise history and home-field advantage in the ALDS. Their magic number to clinch the AL’s top seed over the Yankees is seven.

“They’re the best team in the American League,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday afternoon. “They're good. They're just very talented.”

The Rays will see that five more times over the next 12 games. It’s a big part of Tampa Bay’s remaining schedule, the toughest in baseball, which includes series against two other clubs they might face in the playoffs -- the Blue Jays and the Guardians.

“You're going to see these teams in the playoffs, and it's going to be a lot of fun, truthfully. The tougher the competition we have, I think, the better we play,” said Shane McClanahan, who will start Tuesday night. “It's just the way this group of guys are built. We love the big moment, we love the competition, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.”

Monday’s game was anything but fun for the Rays, however.

Afterward, Cash and Ramírez lamented a little bit of bad luck at the plate, especially against Houston starter Luis Garcia. The Rays recorded eight hard-hit balls against Garcia, who also walked four in five innings. But only two landed for hits as Tampa Bay went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and was shut out for the eighth time this season.

“It's just bad luck. Tomorrow, it's going to be another day,” Ramírez said. “We just have to come back and compete again and have the same approach. Maybe tomorrow, we'll have better luck.”

Rasmussen, meanwhile, was frustrated with his own performance. After going 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA over a six-start stretch, he has allowed four runs in back-to-back starts and has lost consecutive starts for the first time in his career.

Rasmussen immediately fell behind Jose Altuve and allowed a leadoff homer in the first inning. He settled down after that, retiring 13 batters in a row before running into more trouble against the top of Houston’s lineup in the sixth.

Altuve reached on an infield single, Jeremy Peña walked and Yordan Alvarez bashed a single to right field, advancing to second when Ramírez’s throw sailed over the cutoff man. Then Alex Bregman broke his bat on a two-run double to left. Repeating a frustrating theme from Rasmussen’s last outing in Toronto, all three of the Astros’ hits in that sequence came with two strikes.

“Their ability to put the ball in play took us out of the game, and that falls on me,” Rasmussen said. “My responsibility as a starter is to keep us in it and give us a chance, and that sixth inning really, really hampered what we can do offensively.”