Nearly 100 games into the season, Rays manager Kevin Cash couldn't be much happier with where his team stands.

The Rays played their 100th game Sunday against the Indians at Progressive Field. They went in 60-39 and tied for first place with the Red Sox in the American League East.

Cash said the team comes to the park with good energy every day.

“The guys have done a good job of finding a way to win games,” Cash said. “They have come back from behind several times. We have had late-inning heroics. Like [Saturday’s 8-2 victory], we got off to an early lead and then added on later in the ballgame. Yesterday, the [bullpen] was just awesome.”

The Rays have a big homestand against the Yankees and Red Sox at Tropicana Field starting Tuesday night. They're hoping to get a big boost from slugger Nelson Cruz, who was acquired from the Twins on Thursday.

“We have guys that have presence in our lineup for sure, but now we have added the highest presence with [Cruz],” Cash said.

One player who could benefit from Cruz's acquisition is outfielder Austin Meadows, Tampa Bay's RBI leader. Entering Sunday’s action, Meadows was riding a five-game hitting streak in which he was batting .350 (7-for-20) with two home runs and seven RBIs. For the third game in a row, Meadows hit cleanup behind Cruz.

“Getting Nelson has been huge,” Meadows said. “His presence has been great. He has veteran experience and has been around a long time. Everybody knows Nelson Cruz. For me to hit behind him has been awesome as well. … He is a huge addition for us.”

Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who has been with Rays since 2013, said Cruz is the biggest name the team has ever traded for during his career.

“From a player’s standpoint, it gets you so excited because the front office is on board. We are going for it,” Kiermaier said. “We are trying to be the best team we could possibly be with a trade like that. He is just the guy who is going to make us all better. He has seen just about everything you could see on the baseball field. He has so much success. ...

“You can tell he is that leader-type of guy. After a couple of days, guys are watching what he does and how he works. He is doing something right. So we are happy to have him. This is a confidence booster once again from our front office. They say, ‘Hey, this is just a credit to what we’ve done as a team so far, and we are going to try to make our team even better from this point forward.’ It's going to be fun watching him hit every night. Hopefully, a lot of loud noises will come his way. But he definitely makes us better.”