Yandy Díaz kept the Rays rolling with a career-best 5-for-5, including a double and four singles, powering a 9-4 win that swept Seattle at Steinbrenner Field. Tampa Bay rapped 19 hits, six players with multi-hits, and chased George Kirby early, forcing his shortest start of the season. Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez supplied late Seattle damage, but the Mariners couldn’t slow a Rays attack that now sits within 2.5 games of the final wild-card spot. Tampa Bay opens a four-game set with Cleveland to push for a postseason berth as the Rangers and Royals remain in its crosshairs.

Fantasy-backed Rays sticks look primed: Díaz’s 5-for-5 eruption boosts his rest-of-week projections, while six Rays collected multi-hit nights and a homegrown spark from Caminero and Mangum adds growing upside. Seattle’s skid tightens the wild-card race as Kirby’s rough two-inning start leaves questions for their rotation, even as Rodríguez kept pushing in a late rally. The upcoming Guardians series will be a real test of the Rays’ momentum and lineup depth.

Nationals aim to snap a six-game slide as Jake Irvin starts at Nationals Park against Tampa Bay. Brady House sits, Paul DeJong starts, and Luis García Jr. slides to the 8th against a righty. Rays reshuffle the bottom of the order with Jake Mangum, Chandler Simpson, Bob Seymour and Hunter Feduccia while Ryan Pepiot takes the mound.

This afternoon doubles as an audition for Washington’s young core with a month left in the season, while Tampa Bay looks to maintain momentum in an afternoon clash that could ripple through late-season lineups and fantasy rosters.

The Rays’ deadline activity didn’t flip their fortunes, but it did shuffle their upside and how fantasy managers should look at August. The Athletic pegs Tampa Bay at No. 15 in power rankings as the team added Adrian Houser to bolster the rotation, while also juggling a multi-team swap that shuffled catcher talent and infield depth. The moves are described as a rare, almost paradoxical mix of buyer-and-seller instincts that sum to a net effect that may feel like a wash as the stretch run begins.

Key trades included Danny Jansen leaving and Nick Fortes coming aboard, Zack Littell moving out in a three-team deal for Hunter Feduccia, and José Caballero traded for Everson Pereira. Curtis Mead was sent away for Houser, Taj Bradley for Griffin Jax, all underscoring the Rays’ philosophy of flexible asset allocation rather than a core rebuild. Entering August, Tampa Bay sits 11 games back of Toronto and four ahead of Baltimore, a classic August “dog days” setup where momentum—and fantasy value—will matter more than ever.

From a fantasy lens, the Houser addition stands out as a potential anchor for the back of the rotation, while the trades at catcher and infield may shuffle lineups and playing time in ways that elevate some players and suppress others. If the Rays can find a new gear in August, Houston-like depth and defensively oriented pieces could emerge as best bets for streaming starts and potential saves opportunities behind a veteran group.