ST. PETERSBURG -- Nobody saw 90 wins coming. Many predicted 100 losses for the 2018 Rays. But Tampa Bay's 9-4 win over Toronto in Sunday afternoon's season-finale at Tropicana Field put the Rays at 90-72 on what was a promising season.
Ninety-win seasons normally ensure a spot in the postseason. While that won't be the case for the Rays, the team can look forward to 2019 with great anticipation following a surprising winning campaign.
"We should be very proud of the way we played this year," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "The things we accomplished. The groundwork we laid. But we're not satisfied. … We need to go into this offseason, enjoy ourselves, take a month, then get back after it."

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Sunday brought more dirty uniforms, quality defense and plenty of pitching -- the Rays' recipe for success in 2018.
"There's worse ways [to end the season]," Tommy Pham said. "A lot of jerseys today were dirty, and that's a good thing. Guys were out there really working hard to win a ballgame."

Tampa Bay scored twice in the third to take a 2-1 lead and added three more in the fifth, then three more in the seventh. The Rays helped their cause with five steals on the day, including two from Mallex Smith, who finished with 40 on the year.
Paving the way for the Rays were Jake Bauers, who went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs, and Pham, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple and two runs scored.

"I'm excited to be a part of this whole organization," Bauers said. "This is a great group of coaches. We have a great manager and a great group of 40 guys. Any time you're generally excited to go to work and you're excited about being able to hang out with your boys, your buddies, just go have fun and have baseball be enjoyable with guys you actually like, it's a huge thing. We're looking forward to next year."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
With Joey Wendle batting in the third, Pham stole second. Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire threw the ball into center field on the play, allowing Pham to reach third and Bauers to score the Rays' first run.

SOUND SMART
Ryne Stanek made his 29th start of the season, becoming the 55th time the Rays used an "opener" in 2018. He is the first rookie in Major League history with at least 25 starts and 25 relief appearances in a single season. An odd quirk of being an "opener" is the fact Stanek went winless in all 29 starts.

NOTABLE MARKS
• Wendle went 1-for-3 to finish the season with a .300 batting average, setting a new Rays rookie record for batting average.
• Smith's 40th steals are the most stolen bases for a Rays player since Carl Crawford's 47 and B.J. Upton's 42 in 2010.

• Ryan Yarbrough got the win on Sunday, moving him to 16-6 on the season, establishing a Rays rookie record for wins.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Billy McKinney popped up into foul territory on the third-base side with two outs in the fifth. Wendle hustled over from third base, lost the ball in the roof, then dove to his left at the last instant to make the grab.

HE SAID IT
"The belief. The players went through a stretch where they beat a lot of really good teams and they carried a really good record through that stretch. So I think that the belief will be there." -- Rays general manager Erik Neander, when asked what can carry over from 2018 to 2019