Rain delays don’t matter.
Great nights by old teammates don’t matter.
An early deficit doesn’t matter.
The surprising roll of the Tampa Bay Rays continued Thursday night in Washington, when the Rays scored four runs in the sixth inning to win a comeback victory over the Washington Nationals to win their series. The Rays are now eight games over .500 and have won six out of their last seven games.
How impressive is this streak? Impressive enough that a 17-minute rain delay doesn’t matter. Impressive enough that Yunel Escobar going five-for-five doesn’t matter. Impressive enough that Chris Archer falling behind 3-1 doesn’t matter.
Archer lasted only five innings but still got his eighth victory of the year.
The Rays trailed 3-1 after the second inning, but the Nationals did not score in their final seven at-bats. Joey Butler had a home run, and the Rays scored two runs on a throwing error by Bryce Harper, who suffered a slightly pulled hamstring on the play. Butler is now hitting .331 on the season.
The Rays led the New York Yankees by a game in the AL East.
The Rays open a three-game road swing in Cleveland tonight at 7:10 p.m. Nathan Karns pitches for Tampa Bay.
