​Rays’ dominant road trip helps propel them up the power rankings originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Tampa Bay Rays have been absolutely rolling this year. They have been one of the most fun teams to watch and have been killing it at home with an MLB-leading 41-18 record. Tampa Bay has gotten elite production from its stable of arms, and the offense has been raking, especially Junior Caminero, who has the fifth-most home runs in baseball at 33. They were also able to make some smart moves ahead of the deadline, bringing in catcher Liam Hicks, adding even more offensive capability to a team looking to go the distance this year. MORE: Why Rays never had a serious chance to trade for Tarik Skubal from TigersRays’ dominant road trip helps propel them up the power rankingsLast week, the Rays had six games on the road. It started with the Colorado Rockies and ended with the Seattle Mariners, but they had little trouble executing their plan. They were able to take care of the Rockies, sweeping them in the three-game series and carrying that momentum into their series against the Mariners, where they did the same thing: a 3-0 sweep. After a 6-0 week and pushing further ahead in the AL East, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter takes this team from no. 6 to No. 4 in his latest power rankings. “The Rays six-game winning streak is the longest in baseball after they swept the Rockies and Mariners on the road last week, and that also moved them above the .500 mark on the road to 30-28 on the year. The counterpoint to that, of course, is that their 41-18 home record is the best in baseball. New catcher Liam Hicks (5-for-17, 2 2B, HR) has slotted nicely into the middle of the lineup.”Tampa Bay now turns its attention to what could be another week of successful baseball. They continue their road trip with a series against the Athletics before returning home to take on the Baltimore Orioles. More MLB news:Rangers fly up the power rankings after a successful week at homeLate heroics in Boston bump the Athletics out of the power rankings basementAngels fans won’t enjoy seeing where their team sits in latest power rankingsWhy Phillies are recalling Chase Shugart, not Alex McFarlane amid bullpen roster moves