Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Pruitt the (almost) Giant Slayer

Links:

• Lost in the soul crushingly bad offensive streak has been Austin Pruitt’s impressive run of going against some of the league’s best starting pitching, and holding his own. With just a bit of support from the offense, Pruitt could very well have notched 3 straight wins against Dallas Keuchel, Chris Sale, and Corey Kluber.

• After yesterday’s game, the immaculate Jose Alvarado was sent down...but for whom?I’m not getting my hopes up, since it’s probably Chase Whitley so he can pitch a couple multi-inning games before getting the shuttle call too.
• Matt Andriese’s rehab continues, as he went into the 4th inning, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs, and notching 2 Ks.
• The AL Wild Card race is weird and a mess (but a fun mess). Even after the Rays terrible run, they are still in the thick of it with a whole bunch of teams with a whole mess of up and down runs in their own right. The Angels for instance have suddenly surged back thanks to a 6 game winning streak, and a 4-game sweep of the also in contention Seattle Mariners (who are about to take on also Wild Card contending Baltimore Orioles next).

The Angels kept alive without Mike Trout, and now Mike Trout is back. He’s so ridiculously good. Trout was on a sure fire MVP pace before his injury. Now he’s back, and he’s right back on that pace. But does he have a chance to win it despite missing 39 games, and should he?

• Some good news for Nats fans and fans of sick hair flips:

• Our pal and editor Ashley MacLennan is continuing her August residency at Fangraphs, this time laying out the multiple ways towards a Detroit Tigers rebuild. As Rays fans know, the path towards relevance is long, winding, and can be reached from a number of different trails.