Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves

In the grand scheme of things, only a few numbers really mattered for the Rays on Tuesday night at Truist Park.  Start with the final score: 7-1, Rays. Then look at Tampa Bay’s record: 86-58, best in the American League. Go ahead and include four, too, because the Rays are still four games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East with 18 remaining. But the Rays did a lot of encouraging things to earn the series-opening victory against the National League East-leading Braves, blasting four home runs and making big plays all over the place to continue their march toward their first postseason appearance since 2023. “In the big leagues, anyone can beat anyone,” catcher Liam Hicks said. “But it's good to go up against one of the best teams in the league and be able to compete right with them, show that we're one of those teams, as well.”