Some very bright minds have been rendered ridiculous when trying to surmise anything of substance from small numbers of baseball games. The stakes might be immense within the pulse of the postseason, but, when you get right down to it, these are still short series, which is to say anything

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays’ season began with so much promise. They jumped out to a record-tying 13-0 start and won 30 of their first 39 games, pairing a potent offense with their typically unrelenting pitching. They then spent the entire 185-day regular season in position to make the postseason.

ST. PETERSBURG -- There is probably no Texas Ranger who was happier to see the calendar flip from September to October than Nathan Eovaldi. The regular season’s final month was a struggle for the right-hander as he worked his way back from a forearm strain that sidelined him for more

ST. PETERSBURG -- As he sat in front of a crowd of reporters on the club level at Tropicana Field, the Rays’ season officially over, Kevin Cash could only find some comfort in the RBI single Curtis Mead slapped to left field off Nathan Eovaldi in the seventh inning Wednesday

ST. PETERSBURG -- One full year ago, Evan Carter was a rising prospect in the Rangers’ system who had played only six games above High-A. Josh Jung had just wrapped up a 26-game debut season in the Majors that had seen him bat .204 with a 38.2% strikeout rate. On

ST. PETERSBURG -- For the past week, one game has felt like an ocean to cross for the Rangers. It took two days for them to clinch a postseason berth in Seattle, and they were just one win away from winning the AL West before falling in Game 162 to

ST. PETERSBURG -- Zach Eflin will admit he’s not one for overthinking, overanalyzing or getting overly anxious. He understands the postseason presents a bigger stage, especially after pitching into the World Series a year ago, but he doesn’t treat it any differently. That makes him the Rays’ ideal choice to

ST. PETERSBURG -- Randy Arozarena invited a very special guest to get the postseason started by throwing out the first pitch on Tuesday at Tropicana Field. His mother, Sandra González. González traveled to the Tampa Bay area from her home in Mexico on Monday, Arozarena said. Game 1 of the

ST. PETERSBURG -- If the Rangers were frustrated by the way their regular season ended, they didn’t show it Tuesday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Now, they have a chance to play their way into the American League Division Series.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Nobody hit more home runs in the American League in 2023 than the Rangers' 233. But the long ball has been hard to come by over the past week, with Texas’ last homer coming in the fourth inning of Friday’s loss to the Mariners. It’ll come around

The best part of the MLB playoffs is how much one day can change everything. Yesterday, we were talking about how the Rays had been rolling the final week of the season, how well the Brewers were set up for October, and how the Twins seemingly were never going to

ST. PETERSBURG -- Despite a number of key injuries and a tough opponent coming to Tropicana Field, the Rays felt good about themselves heading into Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series. They were coming off a 99-win regular season. They had their top two starters lined up

ST. PETERSBURG -- It was easy to be wowed by what Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery did on the mound in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. the Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. But before he turned in seven shutout innings in the 4-0 victory, Montgomery

ST. PETERSBURG -- After taking their discussions and deliberations all the way to Tuesday morning’s deadline, the Rays announced their 26-man roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the Rangers. As the Rays navigated through several key injuries down the stretch, manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the club would

Sure, you can always support your favorite sports team with hats, shirts, socks or jackets. But everyone knows the die-hardest fans are the ones who put something in permanent ink on their body. Something that lasts forever. Something your parents might never talk to you again for. Tattoos.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Tropicana Field might not be a great place to be a pitcher this week. The Rays and Rangers bring the American League’s two most productive offenses into the postseason as they begin their AL Wild Card Series.

ST. PETERSBURG -- A season that began with a historic 13-game winning streak will continue into the playoffs. For the fifth straight year, and the ninth time since 2008, the Rays are bound for the postseason. The Rays are set to begin their latest playoff run on Tuesday afternoon at

TORONTO -- Early Sunday afternoon, before wrapping up their 99-win regular season, the Rays tried to prepare for the postseason without knowing who they would be facing. There were scenarios still in play that could have led the Astros, Rangers or Blue Jays to Tropicana Field, so all the Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- If it were up to outfielders Jose Siri and Luke Raley, the Rays could have set their American League Wild Card Series roster by Monday afternoon with both of them on it. Siri and Raley, sidelined down the stretch by a fractured right hand and a cervical

ST. PETERSBURG -- If you ask Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, it’s almost like rookie Evan Carter glides in the outfield and on the bases. “He makes running look easy,” Bochy said.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rangers announced their roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the Rays ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday.

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.

The playoffs … are here. Nearly every night for the next month, there will be baseball with the highest possible stakes, games played of titanic magnitude. And these will be played all day. This is the fun part. This is what you were waiting for. • 2023 Wild Card Series

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Three of the six teams that have never won a World Series are playing in the 2023 postseason. Two of them are playing each other in the first round. The Rays will host the Rangers in one of the two American League Wild Card Series, with the best-of-three series starting