# Rays avoid self-sabotage to win AL

> Tampa Bay Rays win 98 games by rarely beating themselves through fundamentals
- Title: Rays avoid self-sabotage to win AL · Mlb | Shortify
- Summary: Tampa Bay Rays win 98 games by rarely beating themselves through fundamentals Rays win close games by minimizing self-inflicted errors
- Keywords: rays, mlb, baseball, contact offense, pitching, defense, one-run games, small ball, strikeout rate, walk rate, defensive efficiency, avoid
- Source: Mlb — https://mlb.com/news/rays-excel-in-all-phases-of-game
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: rays, al, mlb, baseball, contact offense, pitching, defense, one-run games, small ball, strikeout rate, walk rate, defensive efficiency
## Rays win 98 games
Tampa Bay won 98 games this season, beating 28 teams in the Majors.

> They're built to stay in baseball games, right? It's a really hard group to pull away from.
## Low strikeouts
Rays hitters struck out at 18.8%, the lowest in MLB.

> Keep the strikeouts low, don't walk guys and make all the plays on defense.
## Few walks
Rays pitchers walked batters at 6.9%, the lowest in MLB.

> We don't overlook the simple things or the basic things, and ultimately, we know that those plays matter as much as the great ones.
## Strong defense
Rays defensive efficiency ratio was .723, the highest in MLB.

> It's trying to be fundamental. Control what you can control and make them beat you and not give other teams outs.
## Close games
Rays won 61 of 95 one-run games, best in MLB.

> Close games are everything. You can't walk guys, and you've got to secure the baseball.
## Small ball
Rays use contact and speed to manufacture runs.

> We felt like we had the potential of being a little bit more of a contact-oriented offense.
## Pitching focus
Rays pitchers throw strikes and trust defense to make plays.

> We find ways to instill confidence for each of the pitchers to put their stuff to work in the zone before two strikes.
## Key takeaway

Rays win close games by minimizing self-inflicted errors